The Cassiopeia Saint
by Dumbledork
Summary: Ranma is presumedly permanently cursed at Jusenkyo and disowned by Genma. As Ranma tries to commit seppuku she's saved at the last moment by the supposedly dead Sagittarius Saint Aiolos.
1. Prologue

This is my first fic, so please be gentle. Constructive criticism is welcome. This story is a Ranma/Saint Seiya fusion, AU, crossover or whatever you want to call it. Be warned, there will be a lot of OOCness and some character deaths. For the Saint Seiya part I've blended the manga and the anime together.

Disclaimer: None of the characters and series belongs to me but to their respective authors (Rumiko Takahashi and Masami Kurumada respectively). I'm only using them to entertain fanfic fans.

Many thanks to Trugeta, Deathgeonous and Porthos112 for their encouragements and the guys and gals at fukufics for their comments.

**Prologue**

When the world is threatened by evil forces, warriors of hope appear. These warriors are called Saints.

A long time ago the Goddess Athena was protected by a group of teenagers called Athena's Saints. Their bodies were the only weapons they needed as their fists could rip the sky and their feet split the ground.

And today, a new generation of teenagers, fighting bravely to protect Athena and gifted with an untameable spirit and great strength has appeared.

This is the story of one of these teenagers. A boy who has suffered a lot of hardship in his young life but who has overcome every obstacle in his way, the biggest of which being his own father, to become one of this generation's greatest Saints, Saint Cassiopeia.

14 years ago, early February, night-time, Sanctuary, Greece

A dimly lit and rather bare room in Athena's temple. Apart from some chairs it contained nothing but a crib surrounded by a ring of candles. The crib contained a giggling baby, an adorable little thing, not yet aware of its destiny and the important role it would have to play in the years to come. Its breathing was slow and regular and an aura of peace surrounded it. A sudden gust of wind blew through the room and the candles flickered briefly as a man (1) clad in white robes, wearing a Greek Corinthian helmet ornamented with the figure of a dragon on top, a facemask and several necklaces entered the room and approached the crib brandishing a dagger above the baby's head, ready to strike. As the blade descended onto its prey a loud scream could be heard and the blade was intercepted by a hand, which then started to bleed profusely.

The scream originated from a young man, a teenager even, wearing golden armour that glittered in the candlelight. "What are you doing?" he asked. "You of all people should know who this child is, the reincarnation of Athena, our Goddess we swore to protect with our lives."

"ATOMIC THUNDERBOLT!" the teenager yelled and launched a powerful attack bathing the room in a light that shined as intense as the sun at noon. The bolt hit its target. The masked man staggered back and his mask was torn off by the powerful blast.

"No, I can't believe it! YOU!" shouted the armoured man, disbelief clearly visible on his face.

"So you know my secret now. Too bad, but I can't allow you to live. No one must know my true identity", spat the man venomously while trying to cover his uncovered face with his right arm.

The armoured man quickly grabbed the baby, jumped out of the window and ran away as fast as possible.

"GALAXIAN EXPLOSION", he heard from behind him and was hit in the back by a powerful blast and launched forward. Rarely had he felt such pain. He staggered but didn't fall, and managed not to throw up but to keep the pace at which he was running.

A few hours later

The sun was just rising. It wasn't really cold but it wasn't warm either. A large, imposing man, for a Japanese at least, about 1.85 meters tall, with a bushy white beard and white hair pointed his camera at the ruins and took some pictures. He seemed to be in his early fifties but radiated a vitality rarely seen in people his age. Next to him stood a much younger but well muscled man, barely 20 but already bald.

"Waaa… waaaaaa… waaaa!"

They heard the cries and ran to the place the wails were coming from.

"What the…!" the older man wondered.

He was shocked by the sight in front of him. Lying there on the floor was a teenager, who looked pretty beat up, bleeding profusely and cradling a crying baby in his arms. Next to him was a strange, large square golden box. It was finely crafted and looked very expensive. A centaur archer drawing a bow could be seen on one side of the box and stars on the other sides.

Running to the boy he asked him:"What happened? Do you need medical help? I'll call an ambulance immediately".

"Tatsumi, quick, call for help!" he ordered.

Tatsumi reached for his cell phone and dialled 911, asking for an ambulance to come to the Acropolis.

"_Thank God I listened to Tatsumi and bought one of these. They are really useful",_ he thought.

He then turned back to the injured boy and asked if he could do anything for him while they were waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

The two were talking for a few minutes and then the older man hastily took the baby while Tatsumi took the box and both of them left before the ambulance arrived.

Several days later, Nihon University Itabashi Hospital, Itabashi ward, Tokyo, Japan

"wah!… waaaaah!"

"Congratulations, it's a boy", said the midwife grinning from ear to ear.

"My son! Can… can I hold him, please?" an over joyous beautiful young woman with luscious auburn hair and still sweaty from the ordeal she just went through asked the midwife.

"Yes, of course", replied the midwife handing the baby boy to his mother.

"My, isn't he the cutest little thing you ever saw, Genma dear?" asked the woman her husband. "_Thank God he doesn't look anything like his lazy father_" she thought and just then noticed a passed out Genma lying on the floor.

"GENMA! Why are you lying on the floor? Husband, get up this moment! Aren't you supposed to be a man?" asked the woman, disgust clearly visible on her face. "_What a wimp_", she thought to herself. "D_oesn't even have the guts to witness the birth of his son. Why did my parents make me marry such a pathetic excuse for a human being?"_

Shaking his head, the bespectacled, black haired man slowly got up and looked at his wife and the small bundle she held in her arms. Suddenly he grabbed the boy and shouted: "YES! My heir is born! _And my retirement secure." _

He looked at his wife and said: "I'll make a man out of him. He'll be the strongest martial artist of his generation. I can't wait to start his training. _As well as get him away from YOUR influence_. "

"Husband, it's much too early to make any plans concerning our son's Future. There will be plenty of time when he's older for you to train him. Right now I can't wait to take my sweet little boy home and pamper him", she stated while staring with loving eyes at the sweet little thing in her husband's arms.

"I agree, he's too young to be trained _yet, but not for long_. But in a few years I'll train him in Anything Goes and he WILL become the strongest martial artist ever", promised the man "_and that will be much sooner than you think. Can't have a weak, pathetic woman in charge of my boy's education. She'll turn him into a weakling."_

"Could I have him back, please? I want to cuddle him some more. I've longed for a child for so long", she said, her face beaming with love for her child. _This is the happiest day in my life, even if Genma is the father. I really hope he doesn't take after him. Just thinking about the possibility makes me sick. If it weren't for the agreement between our families I would never have married him. At least I won't make the same mistake my parent's made and arrange a marriage for him. If he marries it will be a marriage of love."_

"Here, take him. I'm going to the bar with Soun to celebrate this joyous event. See you later", he told his wife and left the room all the while thinking; "_now my Future is secured. In a few years the schools will be joined and I will finally be able to enjoy a sweet retirement in luxury. Thank God my stupid wife doesn't have the slightest idea of my plans or there would be hell to pay. Even if she's a weak woman she can be scary at times, especially when she waves around her damn sword. I can't wait to tell Soun the good news."_

5 years later, night-time, Saotome home, Itabashi ward

Everything is calm in the neighbourhood apart from the occasional car passing by or cats meowing. If anyone had paid attention he would have been able to see the front door of the Saotome home opening slowly and a man wearing a white gi and carrying a large rucksack on his back and a small bundle in his arms leaving the house like a thief and making off into the night.

In the morning a very loud shout that sounded suspiciously like 'GENNNMAAAAA!!!!' could be heard through the whole neighbourhood. A few minutes earlier Nodoka got up at dawn like she did everyday and noticed that her husband was gone from the bed.

She thought that was unusual as she normally had to resort to drastic measures to get his lazy ass out of bed but didn't think anything of it and went to check on little Ranma. When she saw that the boy's bed was empty she became worried and frantically checked the whole house to find him. As she really started to panic she found a piece of paper on the table. After seeing what it was she gasped and all colour drained from her face. Then she started to shake with anger and shouted 'GENNNMAAAAA!!!!!'.

She immediately called the police and told the policemen what had happened and showed them the seppuku pledge. They promised that they would do anything in their power to try and locate her husband and child. After they were gone she collapsed into a chair and started to cry.

1 year later, somewhere in Japan

Genma had changed a lot after the birth of Ranma. Over the last few years he had gained a few pounds although not all of them fat and where before he had only suffered from a receding hairline he now had gone completely bald. He wore a bandanna to hide his baldness and a dirty, white githat seemed too small for his massive frame. He was digging a large hole while the six year old Ranma was watching him, curious as to what his father was doing. Ranma also wore a gi. His mid-length black hair was tied in a pigtail and his blue eyes, uncharacteristic for Japanese, radiated life and were full of mirth and mischievousness.

"Whatcha doing, pops?" asked the young boy.

"I have to dig this hole in order to teach you an awesome and uneatable technique called the neko-ken. You want to learn the technique and become the best martial artist in the world, don't you?" he asked the curious boy.

"You betcha pops. I wanna be as strong as you are", Ranma exclaimed enthusiastically.

"And you will, son. In time you'll become much stronger than I am, I'll make sure of that. You just wait. Once you've learned this technique you'll just improve by leaps and bounds. Trust me. But now you must go to sleep. I'll wake you as soon as I'm finished with the preparations", he reassured his son.

At the break of dawn the hole was finished. After having wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his gi he opened the door to the small shed next to the hole. He took out a large bag that obviously contained cats as there was a lot of movement and thrashing inside the bag and loud meowing could be heard. The man opened the bag, dropped its contents into the pit and closed the hole with a steel lid. Then he went to his son's side and woke him up.

"Get up! It's time for you to learn the neko-ken"

"I'm still sleepy… lemme sleep some more, pops."

The man took a bottle of water out of his rucksack, opened it and poured the contents over the boy's head.

"WAAAAAAAAH!" shouted Ranma, outraged, and jumped out of his sleeping bag. "What didcha do that for?" he angrily asked his father.

"Now now son, stop whining like a weak little girl and show me some respect! It is time for you to learn the neko-ken"

1 year later, Inland Sea (2)

"Faster son, faster! If you don't want to end up as shark meat you'd better speed up a bit", Genma shouted to his son, who was swimming for his life as several great white sharks were following him after being constantly egged on by Genma who was throwing bloody parts of meat at them. Genma was following Ranma's progress in a sturdy boat and was quite safe from the dangerous animals.

8 months later, Mt. Tsurugidake, Toyama Prefecture 

"Come here, son! Do you see that mountain? That's where we'll increase your stamina. You'll have to climb to the top without using any mountaineering equipment. You may take food but nothing else", he explained to Ranma. "I'll deposit food for you at certain key points."

"And what about you? Aren't you coming with me?" asked Ranma, his speech having significantly improved and his intelligence increased over the last two years as the monks from the temples they stayed at taught him more than just martial arts. But Ranma had to hide most of his newly gained knowledge from his father as he knew that he wouldn't approve.

"We're here to train YOU. I don't need the training anymore. I'll wait for you at the top. And now get on with it. You're wasting my precious time with your constant whining", he snarled, not an ounce of compassion in his voice, and left.

"_One day old man. One day you'll pay for everything you put me through. And that is a promise"_, he thought to himself.

1 year later, somewhere in Honshu

"HELP!" shouted Ranma as he was running for his life, followed by a group of black bears after his father had poured some honey on him.

"Stop your whining, ungrateful boy, and show some gratitude for my efforts. Oh, why have the gods burdened me with such a sissy boy who doesn't have the guts to withstand some light training? You shame me son. Why was a world-class martial artist like myself cursed with such a weak little girl", he complained.

"I'M NOT A GIRL!" spat a very angry Ranma at his father. "I'll show you!" He mustered what strength he had left and sped up leaving several shocked bears behind. Two kilometres further he fell to the ground, exhausted, and wondered how he was able to escape. Although he had learned a lot and gained a decent education he still wasn't able to get rid of all the chauvinistic ideas his father has beaten into him over the years. He knew that his father was full of bull but after he was shown the seppuku pledge he did everything in his power to become a man among men.

Genma appeared five minutes later and started to insult him. "That was pathetic. We'll have to increase your training regimen. Why do I still put up with a weakling like you? "

Although Ranma wasn't as easy to rile anymore Genma still knew what buttons to push to enrage his son and make him lose his countenance.

"I AM NOT WEAK! YOU TAKE THAT BACK", he exploded and attacked his father like a berserker on hormones.

One hard punch at Ranma's gut later and the fight was over before it even started.

"Don't let your anger control your emotions", he chided his son. "I'll take it back once you're able to beat me."

"_Yes", Genma thought, an evil glint in his eyes. "If I continue like this he will never be able to think for himself. My retirement is secure."_

He left without acknowledging his son's presence. Ranma followed him, face red with shame.

1 year later, Bayankala mountain range, Jusenkyo, China

"This is our last stop here in China. Afterwards we'll return to Japan", Genma explained to a now 10 year Ranma after they had arrived at the training ground. The valley was encompassed by mountains and littered with over a hundred pools of varying sizes, with bamboo poles sticking out of them.

"Doesn't look like much", he answered, looking bored out of his mind. "I can't see what's supposed to be so special about this place."

A small, burly Chinese man wearing a Mao suit appeared near the pair and started to talk. "Good day, sirs and welcome to Jusenkyo, the legendary Pools of…"

He wasn't able to finish as Genma started to shout to his son.

"Less talking and more training!" he yelled while jumping onto a bamboo pole. "Let's see if you can keep up with me", he taunted the boy.

"You just wait old man; this will be finished in five seconds", he grinned evilly and jumped onto another pole.

The guide started to shout "Come back, honoured customers, you no idea of danger you are in."

But it was in vain. "_No people ever listen to me_", he thought.

They were hopping from pole to pole while exchanging punches and kicks at the same time until suddenly Genma misjudged the distance and Ranma kicked him in the gut. He was then launched into one of the pools.

"Oh no!" shouted the guide. "Honoured customer just fall into spring of drowned panda. A very cursed spring. Very tragic tale."

"What?" asked the distracted boy, barely noticing the large panda that had jumped out of the pool and landed on a bamboo pole near the one he was standing onto. He was too shocked to parry the incoming attack and was launched into another pool.

"Oh, how tragic!" lamented the guide. "Young customer fell into spring of drowned girl. Legend say young girl drown into pool over 1.500 years ago. Now all who fall into spring take body of young girl."

While the guide was absorbed with his monologue the panda appeared next to him and the guide took a teakettle that he had always ready for such an event and poured some hot water over the panda which miraculously turned back into a human being.

"What do you mean?" Genma asked the Jusenkyo guide, obviously he hadn't even noticed that he had been a panda just a few seconds ago.

At that moment Ranma emerged out of the pool but his hair had turned red. "What's the big idea, pops?" he yelled at his father. "And weren't you a panda a while ago?" he asked and jumped out of the pool next to Genma and the guide.

Genma looked at Ranma, shock visible on his face. "What happened to you, son? You're somewhat shorter. And why is your hair red?" he asked.

"Are you drunk again? What are you talking about?" Ranma asked only then noticing the changed timbre of his voice. "What happened to me?" he asked, frightened. "I feel strange". He looked down his gi pants and noticed that something was missing. "IT'S GONE!!!!!" the girl screamed and fainted.

Five minutes later she came to but was still shaken. "What a nightmare", she said, visibly relieved, and noticed once again her changed voice. She checked her body again and broke down. "It wasn't a dream, it wasn't a dream, it wasn't a dream..."

Genma approached his son, now daughter and slapped her hard. "Snap out of it, BOY! Don't act like a weak little girl. The guide told me that the changes aren't permanent so get up and we'll change you back."

Ranma calmed down and got up. She then asked the guide timidly: "Is... is there really a way to reverse this?"

"Yes it true", the guide answered. "But it only temporary cure and not real cure. Hot water change you back to original body until hit with cold water again. Cold water turn you back into girl". He then demonstrated this several times with Genma as his guinea pig.

"Thank God", Ranma said, a grin appearing on her face.

The guide then poured warm water over Ranma and waited for the change to occur.

"Yes, I'm a boy again", shouted Ranma but when she saw the guide's and her father's sour faces she was worried. She looked down again and noticed that she hadn't changed back."

"Wha... WHAT?" she cried out, and started to sob, tears falling from her eyes.

"What's the meaning of this?" asked Genma in a menacing tone while lifting the guide by the lapel of his suit.

"I... no know", answered the guide. "This never happen before".

"If that is the case, why doesn't my son change back?" a severely pissed off Genma asked and dropped the frightened guide to the floor.

At the same time Ranma continued crying apathetically, no emotion visible on her face.

Genma turned to his daughter. "Stop crying like a weak sissy girl, BOY!" he spat at her. "Oh why was I cursed with such a weak child", he continued with one of his usual barbs.

"What you doing, sir?" asked the guide. "She now need your support. She obviously upset."

"HE is upset? What about me? What about my future? What am I supposed to do with a girl? Girls are worthless as heirs. Only good for breeding and cooking. I raised my son to be the greatest martial artist in the world and a real man, not a weak pathetic girl."

"But sir, there no known cure. I been living at Jusenkyo for many years and I see many people getting cursed. No one ever able to find cure. Not victims and not tribes that live here for millennia and know more about pools and curses than anybody ever be able to find cure", he told Genma.

"Isn't there a spring of drowned boy?" Genma asked.

"Yes there several springs of drowned boy or man but they not do any good as curses mix", the guide explained.

Genma blanched as he understood what that meant and turned to his former son and then slowly back to the guide. "There is no cure" he whispered. "The boy will never be a man again. Then there is only one thing left to do". His face hardened and he resolutely marched over to his daughter.

"Ranma, from this day one you are no longer my son, nor are you a member of the Saotome clan. I hereby disown you", he proclaimed. "I have no use for a weak girl. You are a disgrace to our name."

After hearing this Ranma completely broke down and started to cry. The cries soon turned into very loud wailing.

But then Ranma's demeanour changed and she got angry, angrier than she had ever been before, and was soon surrounded by a blue corona of power which changed colours to an orange brown and grew dramatically in size when she felt her body explode from within. Her body was flooded with more power than she ever thought possible and with a loud "DAMN YOU!!!" she sent Genma flying into the upper stratosphere.

Several kilometres away a man stopped when felt the strong emanation of energy. "_I've rarely felt such a strong cosmo", _the man thought_. "I wonder who produced it. I need to check it out as fast as possible_." He then sprinted off into the direction the disturbance originated from.

Ranma meanwhile was desperate and her mood continued to darken. "_What should I do now? I have nowhere to go, no family left and I'm all alone here in China, in the body of a weak girl. I have nothing left to live for_."

She then walked over to her father's rucksack and started rummaging through it.

The guide stood not far away, feeling pity for the poor girl and wondered what he could do to help her. "_She still a child",_ he thought. "_She not able survive all alone in wilderness. Maybe I take her to Amazon tribe. They know lot about pools and curses and she probably taken good care of and maybe become member of tribe_."

Meanwhile Ranma had found what she was looking for, her father's tanto.

"_As a ronin I have no honour left, no future and no reason to live any longer. I might as well die for all it is worth"_. She kneeled down and unsheathed the blade.

The guide, understanding what the poor thing planned to do, was shocked by her behaviour and darted over to her to prevent her from committing the irreparable. He immediately realized that his efforts were futile as he was much too slow.

But as the blade was about to impale the depressed girl a blur appeared in front of her and turned into a young man in his early twenties who managed to stop her hand mere centimetres before the steel entered her flesh.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" he shouted. "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? LIFE IS MUCH TOO PRECIOUS TO BE WASTED LIKE THIS!"

Ranma slowly looked up and asked the stranger: "Who are you?"

"My name is Aiolos", he answered.

(1) The Pope's outfit is from the manga but the facemask is from the anime as he doesn't wear one in the manga

(2) As I'm sure everyone knows about the neko-ken and its consequences I'll skip that part.

(3) The predators I used for the training exercises exist in those places.


	2. Arrival in Nerima

Here's chapter 1 at last (and it only took one year)

**Disclaime**r: none of the characters and universes belong to me. But I use and abuse them anyway.

Reviews are always welcome (even flames if they are justified) and I'll answer every review and private message I receive. And please review, even if it's only a few words.

You can find links to message boards where you can discuss this chapter (and where I've already posted some asnwers) in my profile. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and if you find any mistakes (be it grammar or vocabulary) please inform me.

**Important:** The curse won't stay locked (just wanted to point it out to the numerous people who hate 'locked curse' fics) and yes there's a reason for that and will be explained next chapter.

CHAPTER 1 - ARRIVAL IN NERIMA

3 years later, Nerima ward, Tokyo

It was a nice early spring day in Nerima. The sky was clouded and a slightly chilly wind was blowing through Nerima's streets. The schools had let out a short while ago and the streets were bustling with children and teenagers. A girl in her mid to late teens was browsing through the market, stopping at different food stands to buy ingredients for the evening meal.

She was rather tall for a girl her age and had a lovely face, kind brown eyes and long brown hair that she wore in a ponytail. The teen was wearing a Furinkan High School uniform, consisting of a white blouse and a blue jumper. Even in her less than flattering clothes one could see that she had the beauty and the grace of a fairytale princess. The girl's name was Kasumi and she was well known throughout Nerima. Her charming personality had endeared her to all Nerimans over the last few years, and the stall owners at the market always gave her generous discounts, in exchange for her occasionally lending them a helping hand. Many residents tenderly called her "Nerima's Angel" because of her gentle nature and kindness.

Being done with her shopping, the brunette was headed home all the while thinking about random things, such as what meal she was going to cook that evening, what to do about the snotty and snooty kendoka that was constantly pestering her sister, and how to get rid of a certain freeloading guest that had been causing them a lot of problems over the last few years. Absorbed by her thoughts, she hadn't really paid attention to where she was headed, and had somehow reached a secluded part of Nerima Honda Park, a small park in the vicinity of her home she often travelled through as it was a shortcut. Only a few people were strolling around at the time, and she had yet to notice the 20 to 25 'Stalking Tigers' members that had managed to surround her. The 'Stalking Tigers' were a local punk gang and rather notorious for their ruthlessness.

Her sixth sense suddenly kicked in, and she took a hasty look around. Realizing the danger she was in, she rapidly put her shopping basket and book bag down and took a defensive martial arts stance. '_Damn! How could I have been so stupid and let my guard down',_ the teen kicked herself mentally, while frantically thinking about a way to get out of the bind she was in.

One of the punks, easily recognizable as the pack leader through his expensive and very cliché designer clothes, approached her and, with a sneer on his face, addressed the shocked girl. "Hi Kasumi, do you remember us? I believe we have a score to settle. The way you treated five of my guys last week wasn't very nice. And they only wanted to have some fun with the girl. Well, it's time for some payback, BITCH! The way I see it, you have two choices. Either we kill you immediately or you decide to cooperate with us and be a very nice and obedient girl, and maybe you'll be able to walk away alive once we're finished with you. And you better believe that my buddies and I are very eager to taste some of what you have to offer. And don't even try and fight it. The consequences would be dire and very painful. I don't know how you managed to beat my boys last week, but you don't stand a chance against all of us. Just be a nice little girl and it will be over soon."

"Forget it! I'd rather die than letting scumbags like you do that to me," a very angry Kasumi spat out, although she didn't feel quite as confident as she sounded.

"Is that so? We didn't ask for YOUR permission. And it's not like you could do anything to stop us," answered the leader nonchalantly while sporting a lecherous grin and motioning his pack of lowlifes to attack.

'_I'm in trouble', _Kasumi mused. '_I may be a relatively good fighter, but I don't like the odds in this fight. I never had to face that many foes before. Still, there is no way that I'll do THAT with any of them. I'd rather die. But I HAVE to win; my family needs me'._

Two of the punks attacked, but a well placed, ki enhanced punch to the solar plexus rapidly downed one of them, while a powerful kick in the family jewels sent the other one sprawling to the floor. As the other gang members realized that Kasumi wasn't that easy to put down several of them, deciding not to take any chances launched a collective attack. Five of them ganged on Kasumi, but they didn't really prove to be a challenge to Kasumi who almost casually blocked or dodged their attacks. She retaliated, and not even a minute later, all five were lying on the floor, heavily bruised and groaning.

Seeing this, the leader's face took a rather nasty shade of red. "Wait for the others to get up and grab a weapon; the whore's going down," he shouted to his boys in an angry snarl. "We won't be able to show our faces in Nerima ever again if we let the population get the impression we're not strong enough to deal with a little girl."

The evil guys grabbed knives, baseball bats and iron chains out of a box they had brought with them and initiated an attack. The group was attracting an audience, as more and more people gathered to see what the commotion was about, but none of them were even thinking of intervening or calling for help, as they really didn't want to get on the infamous gang's bad side. After all, it was a well-known fact that Nerima's cops were too afraid to intervene, as the district was overrun with strong martial artists, who could rip them to pieces without even trying. Thus, the policemen spent most of their time either sitting inside their cozy little koban, or writing parking tickets and helping old ladies cross the streets.

The fight was definitely not going in Kasumi's favor; her arms were heavily bruised from blocking the bats and the chains, and the rest of her body had fared only marginally better. She's also been nicked by knives several times, although the cuts were rather superficial. But the poor girl was tiring and had more and more trouble avoiding the vicious strikes. And then it happened. One of the thugs successfully stabbed the teenager in the left leg, causing her to cry out in pain.

Just as she was falling down, a new player entered the game and caught the injured brunette before she touched the ground. Her savior was a rather small red haired girl, who didn't look any older than 12 or 13. She was about half a head shorter than Kasumi and well built for her age. The redhead had a very cute face, big blue eyes and long, flowing, crimson hair, parts of which were pulled up in twin buns and a ponytail falling down past each shoulder and over her breasts (1). This rather unusual hairstyle increased her cuteness factor even further. She was wearing a royal blue, two piece silk cheongsam, consisting of a short sleeved blouse and a long skirt with slits on each side. The blouse sported a lotus flower motive and hugged her nice figure rather well. The skirt too was royal blue and allowed for a lot of leg freedom, drawing the people's gaze to her well toned legs.

The redhead gently helped Kasumi sit down, all the while keeping her eyes on the girl's aggressors. The gang members had stopped their assault and were giving her lecherous grins.

"Look at who joined us," the gang leader said. "It seems we got ourselves another treat. And what a treat it is. Two for the price of one."

He turned to the new arrival as he continued talking. "So little girl, I can see that you are eager for your turn. Don't worry. After we're through with little Kasumi here you'll be next."

The newcomer had a disgusted look on her face and answered in a very dangerous voice. "Rapists AND pedophiles? You are the worst scum I ever had the displeasure of meeting. Well, not for long. You're going down... the hard way. After I'm finished with you, you'll find it very hard to rape anyone ever again."

The pissed looking teen took a defensive stance, ready to parry everything the thugs could throw at her. As they didn't seem to be willing to start the hostilities she let out a fraction of her battle aura and, before the bad guys could blink, a few of them they lay on the ground, groaning in pain and unable to get up. But that didn't stop the red haired girl from demolishing the rest. She ripped into them using some very vicious, bone breaking combos, punching and kicking away like a dervish until the boss and herself were the only ones still standing.

"Wha---WHAT?" shouted the boss incredulously, the shock visible on his face. "Who are you? Who gave you the right to do that to my pals? There's no way that a little slip of a girl like you could be able to do that. You--- you're a monster!

"Naaaah. I'm just someone who loathes people like you, acting all high and mighty, preying on the weak and helpless, and believing there won't be any repercussions for their despicable actions," answered the very angry teen. "As to how I did this, years and years of intensive martial arts training. Here, I'll show you some more… free of charge."

The leader didn't wait for her attack and pulled a gun out of his pocket. "You may be strong, but even you can't block or evade a gunshot. Game over, baby. Prepare to meet your maker".

The young girl rolled her eyes, but soon a smirk developed on her face as she taunted her opponent. "AND you're a coward. Not even man enough to fight fairly. You probably have a really small one and need the gun to overcompensate for your inadequacy."

The guy was fuming and about to explode, but that didn't stop the redhead. "And by the way, where did you get your cheesy lines from? You should hire a new writer. Even a baboon could come up with better ones. You sound like a B-Movie villain," she continued in a condescending tone, shaking her head.

"DIE, BITCH!" the enraged man shouted, and as he unloaded his gun on the redhead, the crowd scattered and took cover. The young girl just stood there, not even trying to evade the bullets, and after the ammo was spent she was still standing in the same posture, unharmed and looking rather bored. She opened her fists and let the bullets fall to the floor. The thug, the onlookers, as well as Kasumi were gaping stupidly at the scene, not believing their eyes.

Less than a second later the redhead was in front of the thug and gave him a thorough and merciless beating, finishing the attack with a ki enhanced kick into his private parts. "Let's see you try and rape anyone ever again." She then whispered something into his ear in a very threatening tone. "You're lucky there are witnesses here, otherwise I'd have killed you on the spot. And I would have done it in a heartbeat, without remorse. You wouldn't be the first rapist I'd have sent to hell." Not giving the man the time to retort she continued punishing him, cracking several rips and breaking all the bones in his arms and legs in the process, leaving the heavily bleeding man barely alive. Suffices to say that most of the remaining onlookers had turned an unhealthy shade of green and some had even puked. Getting away from the guy, the redhead focused her attention on the other punks, pressing the same pressure point on each of them, and slowly walked over to Kasumi. Some of the punks were able to get up, if only barely, and they decided to check on their leader who wouldn't be getting up for a long time. He was covered in blood and it looked like he didn't have a single intact bone left in his body.

"You had better call an ambulance… and fast. He probably won't last for more than half an hour if he doesn't get some medical attention soon. Not that I care if he lives or dies, mind you, it's just that the paperwork is such a hassle. And here's a friendly piece of advice. Get the hell out of Tokyo and never come back. If I ever see any of your ugly mugs again… well you saw what I did to your boss. Rapists are the worst scum on earth, and I have very low tolerance for scum."

After making sure the gang members got the message, she bent down to the injured teen and checked the stab wound. "Let me take a look at that."

The red haired girl gently examined the wound and got up again to retrieve some medical supplies from the backpack she'd dropped on the floor before joining the fray. She rummaged through the backpack and, having found what she was looking for, returned to the spot where Kasumi was sitting. She kneeled down and quickly and expertly prepared a poultice, which she put on the wound, after having cleaned it with some smelly liquid from an unmarked bottle. She bandaged the wound, tapped some shiatsu pressure points to ease the pain and helped Kasumi to her feet.

Kasumi was visibly impressed by the young girl's medical knowledge, but soon broke out into sobs as the shock of what had happened finally set in, and she hugged the petite girl, who turned an interesting shade of red that matched the color of her hair. "Thank you for saving me," a teary-eyed Kasumi answered. "I can't stop thinking about what would have happened to me if you hadn't helped me. How can I ever pay you back?"

"No need to thank me. I see it as my duty as a martial artist to help people in need. And I'm a little ashamed of myself. I should have interfered earlier, but as you handled them very well before they used weapons, I thought I should let you deal with them, as I know several martial artists who don't like other people butting into their fights. I'm really sorry," said the young girl in an apologetic tone all the while patting Kasumi on the back with one hand and caressing her hair with the other. Slowly but surely the distraught girl calmed down.

Meanwhile she heard the people around her clapping and thanking her. "Thank you for putting down those guys. They've been terrorizing the neighborhood for several months now, and no one has ever tried to fight them," one of the bystanders said. "Maybe now we won't have to be afraid of leaving our houses anymore," another one continued.

"You're welcome," the redhead cheerfully answered, while inwardly seething. '_Damn cowards! Now that the danger has passed they come out of hiding. The situation could have been resolved a long time ago if only they hadn't been too chicken or at least called for the police'. They are really pathetic._ She turned her attention back to the crying girl who was slowly calming down.

"My name is Kasumi, Kasumi Tendo" the brunette presented herself to her savior. "You have nothing to apologize for. After all, you were able to prevent the worst from happening. Not many people would have done the same, and you put them down so easily. I wish I was as good a fighter as you are. Your skills are amazing and you are so young," Kasumi said while smiling at her savior and drying her tears with a paper handkerchief someone had handed her.

The redhead blushed after hearing Kasumi's praises. "My name is Mei, Mei Kido, and I'm not that young; I'm already 13," she told the older girl. "I'm glad I could be of help. I can't stand bastards that gang up on people… and I especially hate rapists."

Kasumi almost took a step back after hearing the venom in Mei's voice. "Were you ever…?" Kasumi asked tentatively, but was interrupted before she could finish her sentence.

"No!" she stated firmly. "But one of my friends was raped by three men. That was the day I decided to deal harshly with that kind of bastards", the redhead continued. "But let's talk about more positive things. So Kasumi, you said your family name was Tendo, right? Are you by any chance related to Soun Tendo? I've come to Nerima to meet with him."

"Why yes, he's my father," Kasumi confirmed. "I'll show you the way to the dojo if you like. It's the least I can do after what you've done for me. Maybe you'd like to stay for dinner? We seldom have guests, especially since our house guest arrived at our door three years ago," she continued in an angry tone. As the wound made it impossible for Kasumi to walk without help, she leaned on Mei's shoulder and both of them slowly walked towards the Tendo Dojo.

Having noticed the hostility in Kasumi's voice, Mei pondered if she should pry into her private business or not, but she knew from experience that it wasn't very healthy too keep one's feelings bottled up. "You don't seem to like your houseguest very much. Care to talk about it? I found out several years ago that discussing my problems with friends often helped me find a solution. And giving vent to one's feelings is very liberating; I for one generally feel better afterwards."

"A friend?" Kasumi enquired. "Do you consider me a friend? We've only met a few minutes ago."

"Sure. I've only come back to Japan today, after having lived in China for the last three years and don't know anybody in this part of Tokyo yet. And I've always loved making new friends. So what do you say? I would be honored to have a friend like you. First of all we share a common interest, martial arts. Secondly, you've earned my respect for having selflessly protected a girl from being raped last week. It's difficult to find such a noble spirit nowadays. So yes, I couldn't imagine anyone worthier of becoming my friend. This may sound a little pompous but I mean it."

Now it was Kasumi who blushed. She sighed and after some fidgeting decided that it couldn't hurt to share some of her problems with her new friend. Friend… she liked the sound of that. "I really shouldn't have mentioned that freeloader, but whenever I think about him, I can't help but get angry. But I don't want to bore you with my problems."

"You won't, I'm sure of it. We are friends, right? And as such it's our duty to help each other with our problems. So, spill the beans!" She ordered, a winning smile adorning her face.

Kasumi couldn't help it and started to giggle at the redhead's antics. Her cheerfulness was apparently contagious. But she sobered up very quickly. "Thank you. This really means a lot to me. I don't have many friends and it's difficult to make any, as most children my age tend to avoid me, mostly because of our houseguest, who invited himself into our home three years ago, but my family is partly at fault too.

"Is your situation at home really that bad? Why don't you kick the parasite out? You are a very skilled and talented martial artist. You should be able to get rid of some no-good lowlife," she reassured the older girl.

"Oh no, he's much stronger and experienced than I am," Kasumi retorted. I've always loved martial arts, but unfortunately I stopped practicing after my mother died, as I had to take care of the family. I started training again several months after uncle Genma came to live with us. At first I did it to become strong enough to get rid of him, but I realized very quickly that it would probably take me decades to reach a level that would allow me to take him on. But I decided to continue my training anyhow, as I really enjoy practicing the art. I should never have stopped. When my mother was alive I practiced a lot, and my father had even told me that I was very talented. After our mother's death, my father turned into an emotional wreck, feeling sorry for himself and lacking the energy to teach at all. All the students left the dojo and I was forced to become the new housemaid. Juggling school, household chores, and later on babysitting to earn some pocket money didn't leave much time to train."

"When uncle Genma came to our home three years ago, we noticed that our father had become livelier again and we thought that would be a good thing. But at that time we didn't know what a louse the bastard really was. He told us that he had come to our home to tell my father about his son's tragic death. Since then he has been staying with us, not working at all and mooching off our modest income."

Immediately after hearing the name Genma, Mei stopped for a moment, startling the older girl, but urged her to continue with her story, which Kasumi did. They resumed their walk while Mei was still listening to Kasumi's story. Kasumi couldn't help look at her traveling companion as the air suddenly turned chilly. She was rather surprised when she noticed the very cold aura the younger girl was emitting.

'_Damn that old panda. And I had hoped he'd learnt his lesson. But that was probably too much to hope for, and now he's ruining Kasumi's and the other Tendos' life. Well, I guess I'll have to teach him another lesson. And this time he'll really feel it',_ Mei thought while helping the hobbling Kasumi to reach the Tendo Dojo. '_But still, I'd better get confirmation. No need to fly off the handle if it happens to be some other Genma… yeah right; like I'd be that lucky'._

"Genma? As in Genma Saotome? Middle aged, wears glasses, a bandanna and a dirty gi, and additionally transforms into a panda?"

"Oh my, yes!" A very surprised Kasumi exclaimed. "Do you know him?"

"Oh yes. All too well, unfortunately. And he has a lot to answer for, especially for what he did to Ranma. Don't worry, I'll get rid of him for you… and it will be my pleasure."

"Do you really think you can beat him? He is incredibly strong you know. And what is this about Ranma? Didn't he die in a training accident?" The brunette enquired.

"Dead? Is that what the panda told you? Figures he wouldn't tell the truth. The word 'honesty' doesn't figure in his dictionary. No Kasumi, Ranma is very much alive, and he has done very well over the last three years after having been disowned by Genma for refusing to obey him any longer. And believe me, being disowned is the best thing that ever happened to him. You can't imagine the number of problems Genma has caused for his son. Ranma is still in China at the moment, but he'll probably come over in a few months. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't met him 5 years ago. He's been my best friend since then and we've constantly been training together. Even if we aren't related by blood, I've come to consider him as my brother. And our bonds are probably stronger than those of any other siblings. If you're interested I can tell you more about him and our training journey later on."

"I'd love to hear more," Kasumi said enthusiastically. "I can't wait to meet him. And you obviously love him very much. You two must have led an interesting life. But what are you going to do about uncle Genma. I hope you don't plan on killing him."

"Don't worry Kasumi, I won't kill him. I'll leave that honor to Ranma, if he wants to get back at Genma for all the shit he put him through over the years. No, I'm just going to roughen him up… a lot. I'm sure he won't learn his lesson, but it's the least he deserves for the problems he has been causing your family. Ranma told me that beating Genma up always was a very therapeutic experience for him," Mei giggled.

"You must really hate him, if you are able to talk so casually about hurting him," Kasumi stated.

"Words can't describe the hate I feel for that waste of human skin. Thank God I didn't have to suffer from his stupidity, as I merely followed him and Ranma on their training journey. It was Ranma who had to suffer so much under his 'tender' care. And what kind of sister would I be if I didn't try to help my brother."

While the two girls continued walking to the dojo they talked about this and that, consolidating their newly acquired friendship, both of them being happy to have met a kindred spirit.

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"Ah, here we are," the older teenager said as Mei helped her open the gate to the huge compound; the two girls then continued on to the house door. The L-shaped, two story house looked old but was in good repair. Next to it was a decent sized dojo. "I'm home!" She announced as the two girls entered the house. "And I've brought a guest."

Both teens entered the living room and saw two men sitting in seiza behind a small table, playing shogi. One of the men looked to be in his early forties and was wearing a brown gi. He was rather tall and of average built, had black hair that stretched to mid back and a large drooping moustache. The other man was well-known to the redhead, although he had changed a lot over the last three years since she had last seen him. While he used to look stocky, his appearance had always been deceiving as the layer of fat had been hiding solid, rock hard muscle. But that was no longer true. Even to the untrained eye it was obvious that he hadn't kept up with his training. Gone were the muscles, leaving only fat behind. "_Pathetic"_ was the first thought that came to Mei's mind.

Before anyone could react, Mei had already positioned herself behind the bandanna wearing man, who was too absorbed by the game to notice anything; another proof of his lack of training. But he noticed someone tapping lightly on his shoulder.

"Ha! I won't fall for that old trick Tendo. You can tell Kasumi to stop trying to distract me," the man in the white gi said.

Mei tapped him on the shoulder once more.

Getting annoyed, Genma turned his head around to see who would dare to interrupt the game he was obviously going to win. He looked at the teen standing behind him, wondering why she seemed so damn familiar. You could almost hear the gears shifting in his head, and then his eyes widened comically as the realization set in.

"Hello Genma," the girl said in a saccharine tone. "Do you remember me? After all, we haven't seen each other for more than three years."

After hearing the voice that had been haunting him ever since Jusenkyo, Genma's face turned starch white and he started to shiver. "H---how…?"

Not giving him the chance to utter another word, the redhead tapped a paralysis pressure point in his neck, shutting him effectively up and leaving him unable to move a single muscle, except for his eyes.

"No, old man!" The girl exclaimed. "I don't want to hear any of your lies anymore. You're going to pay for all the shit you put Ranma through. But I won't kill you. I'll leave that honor to Ranma when he returns from China. In the meantime, I'll give you a little taste of what is to come once he gets his hands on your worthless carcass. In a sense I have to thank you for disowning Ranma. That act freed him from the repercussions of the shame and the dishonor you brought to the Saotome name."

While Mei was talking to Genma, the rest of the household, the three Tendo sisters and her father were intently listening to the redhead's speech and avidly watching the drama unfold in front of their eyes.

"But enough of that. Don't complain later on, you had had this coming for a long time," she told him nonchalantly, as if it weren't of importance.

The fight, if you could call it one, was brutally short. Genma, who was still paralyzed, didn't have a chance to retaliate or even defend himself, while Mei was pummeling him into unconsciousness. After the thorough beating had stopped, Genma was lying on the floor, bent into pretzel form. Mei then grabbed him by the lapel of his gi and punted him into LEO.

"And that's how you get rid of garbage," she explained.

When she saw the four people gaping at her with wide open eyes and unable to utter a single word, she asked them what their problem was. After they got out of their stupor, Kasumi made the presentations. "Mei, I'd like you to meet my family. My father, Soun Tendo, and my younger sisters, Nabiki and Akane."

Sound Tendo was somewhat out of shape but looked surprisingly fit and it was very difficult to assess his martial arts skills, but if what Kasumi told her earlier was true his skills have probably degraded it a lot from what they'd been in his prime

Nabiki was a very pretty girl, with short brown hair in a pageboy cut. She was wearing shorts and a green t-shirt with 'bad girl' written on it. She was lazily chewing some bubblegum and analyzing Mei with a calculating gleam in her eyes, making the young girl feel uncomfortable. She was in good shape, but obviously not a martial artist. She probably worked out regularly.

Akane had straight, long, bluish black hair tied together at the end with a ribbon. She was wearing a yellow blouse and a pleated red skirt reaching down to her knees. She was in really good shape but her thighs and arms were a little thick. She probably did a lot of weightlifting and her posture showed some skill in the art, but it was obvious she wasn't in Kasumi's league. She would have looked cute, if it weren't for the annoyed expression on her face. She was visibly pissed off about something, but Mei had no idea what it was.

"Family, I'd like you to meet Mei Kido, my newest friend. She saved me when I was attacked by a large group of "Stalking Tigers". If it hadn't been for her help I probably wouldn't be here. And I've invited her over for dinner to thank her. I hope you don't mind," she added cheerfully.

Soun was still rooted to the place mouth agape and unable to react. "Snap out of it, father," Kasumi told him while shaking him.

"Huh! What?" he asked, slowly coming to. "What happened just now?" After saying that he noticed the state his daughter was in and began to wail. "WAAAAAAH! MY BABY WAS HURT!"

"FATHER!" Kasumi shouted. "Stop it! You're making a scene. Mei saved me before anything bad could happen."

Mei looked incredulously at the middle-aged man, who was crying like a baby. The tears stopped almost immediately and Soun examined his daughter very thoroughly. Having made sure that Kasumi was all right, he turned to the redhead. "So what happened just now?"

"It looks to me like Kasumi's friend just got rid of a giant cockroach," Nabiki answered. "Good riddance if you ask me. I hope he'll stay gone."

"GENMAAAA!" the mustachioed man shouted and turned his attention to the redhead. "What did you do to my friend?" He asked in an angry voice, using his patented demon head technique.

"Hmm?" Mei asked negligently, not impressed in the slightest by the technique. "Oh, I just showed him the way out, just like Kasumi asked me to. With some luck you won't have to see his ugly mug anytime soon. And I have to say I'm rather surprised that you still call that lowlife your friend after the stunt he's pulled all those years ago. Not to mention the mooching he's been doing over these last three years."

"What are you talking about?" The perplexed Tendo patriarch asked the young girl.

"I'll show you," she said and rummaged through her backpack. "Ah, found them!" She took a set of scrolls out of the pack and handed them to the surprised elder man. "Take a look at those and tell me if you recognize them."

Sound opened the first scroll and had a shocked look on his face as he recognized the contents. "Those… those are the original scrolls containing our family techniques. Where… did you get them? They've been gone for years. I thought I had lost them." The mustachioed man stammered.

"Ranma found them in Genma's backpack after he sent him flying three years ago," Mei explained. "And your outburst just now confirmed my suspicions. You didn't give them to him willingly, right? And you still think of that waste of space as your friend?"

The man went into shock once again as realization slowly set in, but after shaking her father for a few moments Kasumi was able to snap him out of it.

A clearly disappointed and humbled Soun sighed. "I guess you're right. I know that he did some bad things in his youth and I'm ashamed to admit that I have been an accomplice in some of the larcenies and petty thefts he has committed in our youth, while we were training together. But we were weak and afraid of our master. But I got over it after we managed to get rid of the master and I've been deluding myself into thinking that it would be the same for him. I was probably in denial after having known him for all these years. Friendship often blinds, but I'm glad you managed to open my eyes."

"It was my pleasure. I'm always happy when people start seeing Genma for what he really is, a sorry excuse for a human being. But I have to admit that the scrolls were quite a find. The Tendo techniques are rather useful and they've really helped us improve our repertoire of martial arts techniques."

"I see," Soun answered in a calculating tone. "So, if Ranma knows the Tendo branch of Anything Goes, do you think he would mind teaching the Saotome branch to one of my girls? Genma and I made a pledge several years ago to unite both branches through marriage. But as Ranma isn't a Saotome anymore and after finally realizing what a kind of man Genma is, I declare the pledge null and void. But as Ranma now knows both schools it would be only fair if the heir to the Tendo branch knew them too. Don't you agree?"

"I don't have a problem with it. In fact, I've been thinking about taking Kasumi on as a student. She has a lot of untapped potential and could become one the greatest fighters in the world."

"Kasumi? An obviously surprised Soun Tendo asked. "But Akane is the heir of our school, not Kasumi."

"Oh?" Mei exclaimed, perplexed. "But even without seeing Akane fight I can already tell that Kasumi is a whole lot better. I'm not trying to insult your younger daughter's skill, but shouldn't the better fighter be the heir? "

Kasumi blushed after hearing Mei praise her skills and a vein popped out on Akane's forehead as she got angry and slowly started to glow as well as exude a slight aura.

Mei opened her mouth to add something, but was rudely interrupted by a verbal outburst from one of the Tendo sisters, namely Akane. "Hey you! What's the big idea? Barging into our home and attacking people? And then you start insulting my fighting skills. Who do you think you are? I could have beaten uncle Genma myself. This is my home and it's my job to defend it. You had no right to interfere with our business. And everyone knows that Kasumi is not a fighter and never will be."

While the dark-haired girl was verbally assaulting the redhead Nabiki once again started to appraise the young girl and to calculate the marketing value of the new arrival.

Kasumi interrupted Akane's rant. "That's quite enough Akane. Stop harassing my friend. Is that how you treat a guest? I for one am glad that he is gone. And I'm pretty sure Nabiki shares my feelings. Apologize to her immediately!" Kasumi ordered.

Akane harrumphed. "Why should I? I'm the best martial artist in Nerima and it's my job to protect the family. After all, I'm the heir of the Tendo branch of Anything Goes."

Mei raised an eyebrow after hearing this, scanned Akane's aura, and snorted. '_Hmm, a lot of strength but apparently not much control, especially over her emotions. She's had some basic training but probably hasn't been practicing her fighting skills regularly. She's a typical power fighter. Kasumi is clearly much better, so why isn't she the heir? I'll have to ask her later'._

"The best fighter in Nerima?" Mei enquired mockingly. "Don't make me laugh."

Akane got really angry after hearing the smaller girl badmouthing her skills. "What did you say? Care to repeat that? I AM the best martial artist in Nerima."

Mei shook her head incredulously. "Suuuure you are."

"THAT'S IT!" Akane shouted. "Let's take this to the dojo. I challenge you. Or are you too afraid to fight me?"

"Quite confident, aren't you? You should be more cautious as to who you are challenging. It can be rather unhealthy to provoke people that can wipe the floor with you. You're not even worth my time; but all right, I'll humor you. Maybe taking you down a peg or two will teach you some humility. Lead the way."

Mei followed Akane and the other Tendos into the dojo, looking completely relaxed and admiring once again the cleanliness of the house. Although the dojo was partially attached to the house they had go outside and follow a small cobbled path to the entrance. The dojo was decent sized and, just like the house, in excellent repair and well looked after. A small shrine built against one of the walls and several pole arms and the dojo sign were hung up on another one.

While Mei was walking into one corner Akane started to talk. "After I've won you'll leave and never come back, got it?" She asked the redhead.

"And what if I win?" Mei countered in an amused tone.

"There's no chance you'll win against me."

"That's your opinion. But it's hardly fair. Why should I be the only one to make a wager?"

Mei's calm tone irritated Akane even more. "Fine! Should you win I'll allow you to stay. But don't bother unpacking, I'll send you back on the road real fast."

Mei had to laugh out loud after hearing this. "You? Allow me to stay? As far as I know you're not the head of the house and this means that you don't have the authority to decide about that. But all right. I accept."

While Akane was doing some stretching and flexibility exercises Mei was calmly waiting in her corner looking bored, causing Akane's head to turn even redder. After Akane had finished her warm ups Kasumi approached the two fighters. "I'll be the judge of the fight if that's ok with everyone," she announced while thinking about the upcoming match. '_Akane__, you should really learn to shut up sometimes. Oh well, you brought it onto yourself and maybe a beating will help curb your temper and teach you some much needed humility'._

Mei took a typical relaxed Anything Goes stance, hands behind her back and nonchalantly waiting for an attack.

"This is a best out of three fights. The first one who lands two hits on her opponent wins. HAJIME!"

Akane immediately launched a furious attack onto the redhead who easily dodged all of the angry girl's attacks while whistling a tune at the same time, infuriating the dark-haired teen even further. Akane overextended a punch and Mei simply sidestepped the attack and lightly tapped her on the back.

"First point goes to Mei," Kasumi said.

"Hey!" Akane objected. "That doesn't count. You cheated somehow. There's no way you could have hit me otherwise."

Mei rolled her eyes and Kasumi told Akane to stop arguing and concentrate on the fight if she didn't want to be disqualified.

Akane reluctantly calmed down, but inwardly she fumed. "HAJIME!" Kasumi shouted again.

Akane attacked in exactly the same way as before. Mei sighed and dodged once again. '_Oh god, how pathetic. Whoever taught her how to fight did an awful job at that. She lets her anger cloud her judgment and she forgets even the simplest fighting moves and kata. And she's the heir to the dojo? That's really sad. Oh well, let's finish this and show her the difference between a real fighter and a wannabe martial artist'._

"This is pathetic," the redhead exclaimed and Akane stopped attacking for a moment. "What are you doing? You call this fighting? I've rarely seen sloppier attacks than yours. You let your anger get the better of you and forget even the simplest fighting techniques. I don't know who your teacher was, but he obviously did a very bad job. You're not even worth my time. With an heir like you the future of the dojo does look rather bleak."

"WHAT?" Akane shouted venomously, steam coming out of her ears. "How dare you!" '_I'll put all my strength into the next punch; she'll never be able to block that one', _Akane thought as she launched her attack, but Mei simply grabbed her arm and threw her into the dojo wall.

"Second point to Mei. The match is over," Kasumi announced as Akane remained lying on the floor of the dojo, unconscious.

"WAAAAH! MY BABY GIRL!" Soun cried. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY LITTLE GIRL?" he asked the redhead, using his demon head technique one again. And once again Mei wasn't impressed and simply popped the demon head with her right index finger.

"Mr. Tendo. Akane wanted the match and I gave it to her. It's not my fault she's incapable of judging her opponent's skill. She should really start from scratch. She has some potential, but if she doesn't learn to control her temper she'll never be able to improve," Mei told him.

Soun calmed down immediately, but wasn't able to hide the shame he felt for his violent and unjust outburst.

"I---I'm sorry," Soun apologized to Mei. "I shouldn't have flown of the handle. It's just that… I love my girls and I couldn't stand if anything happened to them. They are all I have left after my wife…"Soun started to sob. Kasumi took him in her arms and calmed him down.

"Dad! I know you've had a hard time getting over mom's death, but that isn't an excuse to shout at Mei. I'm sure you didn't mean to and just wanted to defend Akane. But she started the fight and it's really not Mei's fault that Akane can't control her temper and constantly lashes out at everybody. Mei hasn't been here for more than half an hour and has already realized this. You can't be that dense not to have noticed Akane's violent temper. What will we do once she loses control and kills someone in anger?" Kasumi asked her father in a very serious tone. "We can consider ourselves lucky that the hentai horde is attacking Akane and not the other way round, or their parents would have filed more than one lawsuit against us due to the number of boys Akane has sent to hospital."

After hearing this, the middle-aged man sighed. "You're right of course. I've been overreacting once again. Okay Mei; you won fair and square and I'll honor the wager Akane made with you. You're welcome to stay here."

Kasumi smiled after hearing his. "See Mei, now you won't have to camp out in the park or find a hotel room."

Mei bowed to the assembled Tendos, minus Akane who was still out cold. "Thank you for your offer and I gladly accept. But I don't want to be a freeloader like the panda, so I'll pay for my stay and help with the household chores. After all, it's not right that Kasumi should do all the work around here, especially since she'll have a lot less leisure time if she should accept to become my student. I've told you earlier that she has a lot of potential, and I really mean it. It would be an honor to teach her."

"You really mean it?" the eldest Tendo daughter asked with a grin on her face that indicated she felt like Christmas had come early for her.

"Of course. I think you have what it takes to become one of the greatest fighters in the world. I'll have to evaluate your skills first but I'm pretty sure I won't be disappointed. But I must warn you; my training is harsh and I don't want you to complain later on. Take some time to think about it before you give me a definite answer. It's an important decision for the future, as once you become my official student I won't let you quit until you've mastered the techniques I'll teach you. It will be difficult, but I promise you that it will be worth it," the red haired girl told her potential student.

Kasumi's face lit up and it was easy to see she was very happy after hearing the redhead making the offer. "How come you haven't told me of this before?" She asked.

"I wanted to observe you some more and wait until your wound was completely healed, but what I've seen so far is very promising. That's why I make this offer so soon. Think about it for an hour or two and talk to your family before you give me an answer. But don't let them dictate your life for you. In the end it's your decision, and they'll have to accept it."

"You're right," Kasumi answered, "I'll give you my answer after dinner."

Having heard this Soun turned to face the redhead. "Kasumi?" Soun asked. "Why would you want to train Kasumi? She's not a martial artist. She stopped practicing martial arts years ago."

"Father," Kasumi stammered unsurely. "I'm sorry I haven't told you before but I picked up the art again a few months after Genma's arrival, because I had hoped I'd be able to become strong enough to get rid of him. I haven't told you because I know how emotional you become if you think that one of us might get hurt. I'm really sorry. But I do want to continue. I shouldn't have quit after mother's death, but I decided then that someone needed to take care of the family as you weren't up to it."

Soun's eyes widened visibly and he sighed once more. "I understand. I'm disappointed that you haven't told me about this, but I'm glad you have found something in your life that you enjoy to do apart from cooking and other household chores. And you couldn't have made a better choice. I have been somewhat overprotective after your mother's death, haven't I? But you're right. You're old enough to decide for yourself what you want to do with your lift and so am I. I've been grieving over your mother's death long enough and it's time that I resume my duties as your father.

Turning his gaze back to Mei he continued, "Thank you for opening my eyes about Genma's dishonesty. I was a fool for ever having trusted him. I think that I can finally go on with my life."

At this both Nabiki and Kasumi stared at their father, mouths agape and not believing their ears.

A genuine smile graced Kasumi's as she hugged her father once again. "Thank you father. You have no idea how much this means to me."

Mr. Tendo then turned to Mei. "Let me welcome you to my home young lady. You may stay as long as you want. I'm sure you'll like it here; Kasumi is an excellent cook.

"I can't wait to taste her cooking. She already told me that she loves to cook. And as cooking is also one of my hobbies I'd love to help her in the kitchen. Maybe we could even exchange recipes."

"I'd like that," Kasumi told her. "Let me show you the way."

Mei followed Kasumi into the kitchen whereas Soun and Nabiki decided to check on Akane, who was slowly coming to.

"Oooh, what hit me?"

"A cute little redhead I'd say," Nabiki told her with a smirk on her face.

"Nabiki, don't tease your sister!" Soun chided his middle daughter. "Her pride must be wounded enough as is."

"Maybe now she'll think twice before attacking someone who's obviously much stronger than herself. It was time someone took her down a peg or two," Nabiki retorted.

Soun helped Akane up. "How are you feeling? Are you hurt?" Mr. Tendo asked Akane in a slightly worried tone.

But apparently Akane hadn't been hurt that badly as she had enough energy to go into ranting mode. "Where is that bitch? She must have cheated. That's the only way she could have won. I'm the best martial artist in Nerima. I demand a rematch. I'll show her who n° 1 is. That's what you get for going easy on your opponents. Next fight she's going down… and hard."

'_She hasn't learnt anything from this fiasco',_ Nabiki and Soun thought while Akane was blowing off some more steam.

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Back in the kitchen Mei was helping Kasumi put the purchases away except for the produce they needed for the evening meal. Mei was impressed by the cleanliness of the kitchen. Obviously Kasumi knew how to take care of her home.

"So, what are we going to cook?" The redhead eagerly asked the brunette.

"Sukiyaki," Kasumi answered.

"All right. That's something I know how to cook at least. I learnt cooking in China and I mainly know Chinese recipes, but I'm able to prepare several Japanese dishes, and sukiyaki is one of them," Mei explained.

"That's good. I won't have to tell you what to do then. Could you clean and cut the vegetables while I cut the meat and prepare the sauce, please?" Kasumi politely asked her newfound friend.

"Sure thing, Kasumi," Mei answered happily. Having washed the vegetables Mei threw them in the air, took two knives and started cutting and slashing faster than the eye could see. 5 seconds later the vegetables landed on a plate properly peeled and diced.

And once again Kasumi was speechless at seeing her new friend's skill. _'How did she do that'?_ She wondered and hoped that Mei would teach her.

Seeing Kasumi's reaction Mei had to grin. "Don't worry. If you follow my teachings you'll be able to do the same very soon. I'll evaluate your skills tomorrow and see where to go from there. I did an aura scan earlier and as I've already told you before you have tremendous potential, much more than Akane. I'm pretty sure you won't disappoint me."

"I have no problem with that. Let's get back to cooking. My questions about the training can easily wait until tomorrow. Tonight I'd like to get to know my new friend better if you don't mind."

Mei smiled at her. "Sure thing; my thoughts exactly."

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While the two girls were consolidating their newfound friendship in the kitchen, Soun and his two younger daughters were sitting in the living room and talking about Kasumi's new friend; all three of them were still trying to come to grips with what had happened earlier. The Tendo patriarch was sitting in front of the table deep in thought. Akane had calmed down, but she wasn't able to successfully hide her feelings, and she obviously wasn't very happy with the situation. Nabiki on the other hand seemed completely indifferent, having embraced her Ice Queen persona and waiting for her father to initiate the conversation.

"So, what do the two of you think about Mei? I for one am very impressed with the skills our new guest has shown, especially with how fast and efficiently she was able to defeat Genma, a master of Anything Goes, even if she managed to take him by surprise. She has obviously been training for a long time under excellent teachers. And I'm pretty sure she has only shown us a small part of her skills," Soun stated.

"She was just lucky. I was unprepared," Akane huffed.

"Suuuuuure," Nabiki retorted sarcastically. "And pigs can fly. Face it sis, Mei is simply better than you, even if you don't want to admit it. It's really time for you to get off your high horse and face reality. You have to accept that there are people younger than you that are also better martial artists. Why don't you simply accept your loss and maybe ask her to train you? After all, she'll be training Kasumi so she probably wouldn't mind another student."

"I don't need her help. I'm the best and I'll prove it to you, to dad, and to everyone else. I'll beat her next time," she bragged and stomped off to her room.

"Where did I go wrong with her?" The Tendo patriarch whined.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Nabiki asked. "It started when you decided to abandon your parental duties after mom's death. We had to fend for ourselves while you were wallowing in self pity. All of this could have been avoided if you had put more effort into pulling yourself out of your funk and helping us. After Genma's arrival you got some of your old fire back, and we had hoped that the old you would come back, but as soon as you heard about Ranma's so-called demise you fell even deeper into depression. And when you started listening to the damn panda and his harebrained 'get rich quickly' schemes you reached a new low. There's also the fact that Akane herself hasn't gotten over mom's death yet, although it's been 7 years now. You should have been the one comforting her and help her get over the pain. We tried, but it was clear we didn't really get through to her. It's the role of the adults to comfort their children after all. And when you stopped training her she felt betrayed and that is probably the origin of her deep-rooted anger and her temper problems. But earlier, when I saw how easily Mei handled Genma and your reaction… I'm glad to see that you've managed to overcome your grief. And I hope that you'll stay with us from now on and not have a relapse."

"I---I'll try. I can't promise you, but I'll try my best," he said in a confident tone.

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In the meantime Mei had joined them and started setting the table. "Could you tell me where my seat is, please?" She asked.

"Maybe you could sit next to Kasumi. You're friends after all," Soun answered.

Mei nodded and as Soun showed her the seating order Kasumi appeared and asked Nabi to fetch Akane. Kasumi and Mei then returned to the kitchen and came back a few moments later, their arms laden with platters of food. The family plus one sat down after Akane had arrived and dug in. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food and have a good time, except for Akane who glared at Mei from time to time before continuing to eat.

"Mmmmmm… delicious," Nabiki said. "I have to say you outdid yourself today Kasumi. This is excellent." The others around the table nodded.

"You should thank Mei too. She's helped a lot. She really knows how to cook and you should have seen how fast and efficiently she prepared the vegetables."

"If that's the case, thanks a lot Mei. This is really great." Nabiki then turned to Akane. "See sis, she's a better martial artist AND a better cook. You should really ask her to teach you."

"Shut up Nabiki!" Akane angrily shouted before glaring at Mei. "I'll show you. I'll prepare lunch tomorrow. And then we'll see who the better cook is."

The redhead looked surprised when she saw the other Tendos pale.

"So Mei", how about telling us a bit about yourself and the adventures you've had during your travels?" Nabiki asked, trying to avoid another outburst from Akane.

"Yes, I'm rather curious myself and would like to learn more about yourself and the different fighting techniques you picked up during your travels," Soun told her, and from the eager look Kasumi was giving the redhead it was easy to surmise that she too wanted to hear her story.

Mei obliged. "Where should I start? There's so much to tell. I've loved martial arts since I was little and I've always been a quick study. My parents died when I was nine and as nothing held me back home I decided to hit the road and travel across the country to perfect my fighting skills and learn everything I could about martial arts. I challenged different dojos and stayed at those that were able to teach me new techniques and styles, and I learned a lot. But I didn't just concentrate on martial arts; I also visited temples to learn more about meditation and some esoteric arts. I even learned some moxibustion, shiatsu, and other pressure point disciplines. That's how I managed to paralyze Genma by the way. I'm not sure if I could have beaten him without resorting to that tactic. He is a tricky bastard after all and I'm pretty sure he still knows some dangerous fighting techniques he never taught Ranma.

I met Ranma and Genma several months after I'd begun my journey. Both of them were sparring when I found them and I was impressed. I challenged Ranma to a duel but he didn't accept at first and told me he didn't fight girls. He didn't really mean it though, but it was a remnant of the conditioning he had to endure under Genma's 'care' who constantly hammered into him that women were weak and only good for giving birth and doing housework. I got angry of course and attacked him. When he realized that he wouldn't have as easy a time as he had imagined he took me seriously and we fought for more than 15 minutes until we were both exhausted and decided to call it quits, declaring the match a draw. He apologized afterwards for not taking me seriously but after I got to know Genma better I was able to understand where he came from. Having someone like that as his only role model for his whole life… well you can imagine that it isn't easy. I was even more surprised that he had turned out so well, what with his upbringing. He told me had pretty much stopped listening to Genma after the nekoken disaster. The nekoken is a supposedly unbeatable fighting technique but has been banned for centuries. The training is quite easy. You take a child no older than ten, wrap it in fish products and throw it into a pit filled with starving cats. Then you repeat as often as needed, until the trainee has either learned the technique or died while trying."

After hearing this, the Tendos looked appalled and shocked; even Akane's face had a rather greenish tint to it.

"How… how could he do something like that?" A horrified Kasumi asked.

"Because he's a moron, that's why," the young girl continued. "Suffices to say it was a fiasco. Oh yes, Ranma learnt the technique, but at what cost? Only about 1 in 10 people survive the training and of those very few manage to keep their sanity intact. You see, the goal of the technique is to create an unstoppable berserker. Those who survive are traumatized in such a way that even the sight of a cat is enough to have them run away in fear. If they can't get away or are cornered they see only one way to deal with the fear, turning into a cat themselves. Their mind regresses to that of a cat and they behave just like one, becoming fierce and ruthless fighters that attack anything they consider a threat. They are able to produce ki claws that shred the toughest steel like paper.

None of the cats in the pit survived the onslaught after Ranma entered the nekoken, and after a prodigious jump, Ranma got out of the pit and started to chase Genma around, trying to kill him. Thank God there was an old lady in the vicinity that managed to calm him down. Only someone the nekoken victim trusts or doesn't see as a menace can get it out of that state. The old woman probably radiated an aura of peace and Ranma didn't feel threatened. Ranma jumped onto her knees and let her pet him until he dozed off. After Ranma woke up he was back to normal. Ranma took the nekoken manual from Genma and read it. The manual itself stated that only a moron would teach the technique and that the technique had been banned by every serious martial arts school for centuries.

I noticed right away that he was uncomfortable telling me about that. And I understood why after he told me more about his life and the irresponsible and dangerous training regimes Genma had put him through. For instance, tying him to a train to increase his speed, leaving him tied up near a nest of angry wasps to have him train his evasion skills… I wouldn't wish that torture onto my worst enemies.

I on the other hand told him of my own experiences, which were of course laughable compared to what he had had to endure and he even envied me for having had parents that loved me. He sounded really bitter and somewhat wishful when he confessed to me his feelings on that matter. After telling each other our life stories we became fast friends and started training together. He taught me Anything Goes and other martial arts he'd learned over the years and I taught him some techniques he didn't know as well as some pressure points and meditation techniques. Genma always said that meditating was a waste of time but I'm sure he only wanted to keep Ranma from thinking too much. After all, if Ranma were able to focus better he'd probably start to think… and Genma couldn't control him any longer. You can guess that he wasn't really that happy that Ranma started listening to me more than to him and so I wasn't really surprised when he left with Ranma two months later while I was sleeping.

But as I didn't want to lose my friend and favorite sparring partner, the only one I had, I followed them and we trained secretly together. One of my sensei had taught me how to hide my aura and as Genma wasn't actively scanning his surroundings, not expecting anyone to follow them I had an easy time tailing them. Then there was the highlight of the training journey and probably one of Genma's most stupid ideas, the trip to China. Genma decided that they should swim to China instead of taking a boat, saying that it was a great exercise. In my opinion he was simply too cheap to pay for the boat fare. I wasn't stupid enough to imitate them, but I had not much money and so I hid on the boat and traveled as a stowaway. I reached China faster than they did and waited for them at the spot they would arrive. Ranma had told me beforehand where they were supposed to land and so I didn't have much trouble finding them. Genma was really surprised to see me waiting there, but he couldn't do anything to keep me from following them; so he simply decided to ignore me.

Several days later we arrived at Jusenkyo. Genma and Ranma started sparring, jumping from bamboo pole to bamboo pole until Ranma kicked his father into one of the springs. Before Genma could get back to his feet Ranma jumped off the pole and joined me. We were flabbergasted when a panda jumped out of the pool Genma fell in. The Jusenkyo guide then told us more about the place and the curses; he then showed us how the magic worked and that it was possible to reverse the changes. This wasn't enough to calm the panda down and he blamed me for his stupidity, saying that ever since they had met me trouble seemed to follow them. Then he started insulting me, calling me names like slut and bitch and he even tried to hit me. That was when I Ranma lost it for the first time since I've known him and he kicked his father into a tree with so much force that went right through it and landed on the ground rather hard. After Genma regained consciousness he forbade Ranma to ever see me again. Ranma refused and the asshole threatened to disown Ranma if he didn't comply. I was shocked that Ranma treasured our friendship so much that he was willing to become a ronin and my respect for him rose another notch. I told both of them to calm down but Genma didn't want to hear anything and Ranma didn't believe Genma would go through with his threat. Genma wasn't probably thinking right at that moment and cast Ranma out of the Saotome clan. To say that Ranma was shocked is an understatement. Ranma was devastated at first but then got so angry that he punched Genma into LEO.

Ranma started to cry for the first time in years and I did everything I could to calm him down I managed to do it, cursing Genma for doing this to him. Afterwards we decided to leave and we took Genma's traveling pack with us. Thinking about it I figured that it was maybe for the best, as he didn't have to suffer under his father's idiotic teachings any longer or having to steal food and valuables. We became a family and we've never regretted it. From that day one we treated each other as siblings and decided to stay and train together. We found some really interesting martial arts scrolls in Genma's backpack, even some he wrote himself."

Hearing that Soun gasped and everyone turned to look at him. "Would that be the umisenken and the yamasenken techniques?" He asked.

"Yes, indeed," Mei answered, surprised. "How do you know of them?"

"Well, Genma told me about a set of techniques he had been developing in secret while we were training together in our youth, but they were still unfinished at that time. The subject didn't came up when he came back from China and I forgot all about them. So he managed to perfect them. I don't know much about them, just that they are very dangerous," the Tendo patriarch explained.

"You're right about that. I haven't seen him use the moves but he must have resorted to them for some of his thefts or else he would have been caught. But Ranma and I decided to never use them for that," Mei retorted. "I won't show them to you nor teach them, but they enable us to hide our ki signature, practically becoming invisible, create vacuum blades or even rip the hearts out of people's bodies. Trust me when I say they are dangerous."

The Tendos were stunned by this information and an uncomfortable silence set in. Never before had they heard of techniques capable of doing that. Soun had to think about his master and was glad that Ranma and Mei were honorable people, shuddering at the thought of Happosai knowing them. But then, he probably knew even more dangerous techniques.

Mei didn't like the skeptical looks the two youngest Tendo daughters were giving her and she decided to continue with the story. "After we got rid of the Panda the guide suggested we visit the Joketsuzoku village that was nearby. I thought it would be best to stay in the guide's hut for the night as Ranma wasn't emotionally stable enough for the trip yet. The following day we thanked the guide and took our leave. We arrived at the village late that afternoon, but there was a lot of commotion, and a flow of armed women entering and leaving the village. Apparently there had been a visitor the day before who took advantage of their hospitality and ran off with two bags full of food, several precious stones and some jewelry. Three guesses as to who the thief was. You can imagine that they were somewhat wary of us at first, but after we told them what we knew about Genma and what he'd done to Ranma over the years they took pity on us and allowed us to stay. At first we only wanted to stay for the night and buy some supplies, but after we saw them train and spar we were awed. Just imagine; a village full of skilled warriors. That's every martial artist's dream. We asked the matriarch who had welcomed us if they'd agree to teach us, but she refused at first, telling us that only amazons were allowed to learn their special techniques.

Later Ranma and I were sparring and several amazons were watching. The matriarch was impressed and agreed to teach us the basics of amazon wushu if we taught the young amazon warriors some basic moves from our own styles. We agreed of course and over the next few days we learned a lot from them. But then something awful happened. We were exploring outside of the village when we saw 2 teenage girls being raped by a group of 4 men clad in furs. We later learnt that they were members of the Musk tribe, a patriarchal tribe that has had a continuous feud with the amazons for several centuries. We saw red and attacked the rapists, incapacitating them. The village was very grateful and we became allies to the tribe and the matriarch taught us their most secret fighting techniques herself.

We stayed with the amazons for the next two years and decided to travel through China in order to locate the martial arts schools and temples Genma robbed and give them back the rather large collection of scrolls we found in Genma's pack. There was unfortunately nothing we could do about the valuables that were stolen. Most understood that Ranma was not to blame and some even taught us techniques we didn't know yet. After finishing our business Ranma returned to the amazons as there was one technique he wanted to learn, but I decided to come back to Japan earlier to take care of some personal business. Ranma will probably meet me here in a few months.

Shortly after arriving in Nerima I witnessed the fight between Kasumi and the thugs that had attacked her and jumped in to help her. That's how we met and she invited me to dinner.

And that's about the gist of it," finished Mei and inwardly grinned at seeing the shocked faces around her.

There was a minute of silence while the Tendos were busy coming to grips with what they´d just heard, and Soun was the first to react. "Well, that's quite a story you have told us. I'm impressed. Both of you have already gone through so much at such a young age. I can't even imagine how you must have felt. But I'm glad that something good has come of that and that you dad found someone to comfort you. Don't you agree, children?"

Kasumi and Nabiki nodded, but Akane sneered. "So what!" she said venomously and left the table. The other members of the family sighed at her immature behavior.

"I'm sorry about my daughter's lack of manners," Soun apologized.

"No need to do that," the redhead answered. "I don't hold her reaction against you."

She then addressed Kasumi. "Let's clean up and wash the dishes. We can talk some more afterwards."

Kasumi agreed and both of them got to work. Nabiki turned on the TV and Soun read a newspaper. Kasumi and Mei were chatting in the kitchen while cleaning up. They prepared tea and rejoined the others in the living room. They talked some more and Mei went to the dojo for her evening training. Kasumi joined her shortly thereafter and was once again impressed by the younger girl's prowess.

"Kasumi," Mei called out to her prospective student after finishing her katas, "At want time do you get up in the morning?"

"I usually get up at 6 a.m.," she answered.

Mei nodded. "That will do for tomorrow. As you've still not completely recovered from the stab wound I'll start off the day with explaining to you exactly what I will teach you. And afterwards I want you to tell me if you accept what I'm proposing or not. Could you show me my room, please? I still have to unpack."

"No problem. Just follow me. You can have Genma's old room. It's spacious enough and he won't need it any longer. "

They talked some more and Mei went to be a short time later."

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The next morning Mei got up at 5 a.m. like every day and stretched her limbs while she was trying to get rid of the least remnants of her sleepiness. She got up and grabbed a change of clothes before going to the furo, not even bothering to wear a robe over her blue negligee.

She filled the furo and while she was waiting for the bath to be ready she got out of her negligee and lathered up. After the furo was filled she closed the tap and entered the hot water.

'_If Kasumi accepts the training I'll have to tell her the truth. This is too important to keep from her. I hope she won't call me a freak like some people did. There's a reason why I don't want people to know. But I'm pretty sure I can count on her. There isn't any malice in her aura and she even got rid of the anger that had been developing over the last few years. Probably because I got rid of Genma. Poor girl. She must have suffered a lot and the rest of the family as well'. _

Just as Mei had finished pondering and was climbing out of the furo the door opened.

"Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed, as she saw a black haired boy standing in front of her.

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(1) Pretty much similar to Shampoo's hair style

Posted: 01/01/2008


	3. The Secret

Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me. I only use them to hopefully tell an interesting tale and I don't make any money with this.

Chapter 2

The boy froze for a brief moment like a deer caught in the headlights at seeing the beautiful and very naked brunette in front of him, but before Kasumi could react he was already at her side, clamping one hand over her mouth while reaching for the showerhead with the other.

He looked to be about 13-14 years old, had long black hair that fell down to the small of his back, blue eyes and a well toned and well muscled body that was covered with old, faded scars. It was obvious that he had trained a lot and must have seen his fair share of fights.

Not letting go of the squirming Kasumi for even a moment he opened the cold water tap and sprayed himself with the water beam. Kasumi's eyes widened as the unknown boy transformed into the cute redheaded girl that she had met the day before. That proved to be too much for the older girl and she promptly fainted.

'_Damn', _Ranma thought while pacing the bathroom_. 'What should I do? I can't have her blab what she saw to the world. I guess I'll just have to swear her to secrecy. I don't think there will be any problems. After all, I was going to tell her about the curse anyway before starting her training. I just hope she won't hold it against me. With the potential she has it would be a shame if she should decide to decline my offer'._

Ranma quickly put on some fresh underwear, consisting of plain white panties and a simple white bra, pulled on some blue, form fitting denim trousers and a red tee-shirt. She took Kasumi into her arms and opened the bathroom door after having done an aura scan to make sure the coast was clear. Not sensing anyone she darted to Kasumi's room and lay the unconscious girl on the bed.

She lightly tapped Kasumi on her cheeks several times until the brunette came to. The older girl opened her eyes and after seeing Mei she relaxed a bit, but stiffened immediately after remembering the scene she had witnessed in the bathroom and that had made her lose consciousness. "You... You're the boy I saw in the bathroom, right? You got a Jusenkyo curse. That means... you're Ranma, aren't you?" She asked tentatively.

Ranma just stared incredulously at the brunette and nodded her head. "How...?"

"How did I guess?" Kasumi asked with a slight smirk. "Well, it's obvious. Genma transforms into a panda with cold water. So I'm well aware of the curses. And here there is a boy who transforms into a girl, practices Anything Goes, and is well aware of Genma's less than exemplary conduct... Need I tell more?"

"No, that won't be necessary," the redhead said, looking very sad and close to tears. I am Ranma. I--I'm sorry for deceiving you, but I was going to tell you my secret before starting to train you. You're probably very disappointed and I can understand if you don't want to have anything to do with me any longer. I'm really sorry. I'll just leave and never darken the steps of your home with my presence again. And I also want to apologize for seeing you naked. I assure you I am not a pervert."

Throwing a dejected look at Kasumi she turned around and prepared to leave.

Before she was to the door she could feel a hand holding her arm. She looked at Kasumi, expecting to see a hateful expression on the older girl's face, but to her surprise said girl was smiling.

"Please stay," Kasumi said in a soft tone and a hopeful expression on her face. "I know you are not a pervert. I should have checked before entering the bathroom. It was my fault. And I won't hold your curse against you. I can understand why you don't want to reveal your condition to the world. There probably are a lot of people out there who wouldn't understand and treat you like a freak. You're my friend and I value our friendship, how short it might have been. And it's not like you hid your true identity with malicious intent. But I insist that you tell me the whole story. The real one, not the one you told us yesterday. Friends shouldn't keep any secrets from each other and I swear that I won't hold it against you. So please, don't leave."

Ranma sighed and sat down on Kasumi's bed. "All right, I'll tell you the story, but first I'll check your wound. Just wait here, I'll be back in a minute." Ranma went to her room to get her first aid kit. After returning to Kasumi's side she undid the bandage and lifted the poultice. Seeing that the stab wound looked a lot better she took a jar filled with a greasy cream out of the kit and rubbed it on the wound. She grabbed a fresh roll of bandages and tied them around the wound. "You should rest today just to be on the safe side. We will start training tomorrow.

Ah yes, before I forget. At what time do the others generally get up? I don't want them to overhear our conversation. It's very important that as few people as possible are made aware of my old identity. Promise me that you won't tell anyone without my permission."

Kasumi looked into her friend's eyes. "I promise I won't tell anyone."

The brunette saw Ranma visibly relaxing after hearing the promise and it seemed like a heavy weight had been lifted off the younger girl's soul.

"Akane usually gets up at seven and father and Nabiki at half past seven. I get up at half past five for some training and preparing breakfast. Normally I don't use the furo at this time, but since my wound prevents me from training anyway I thought it would be nice to take a nice, warm bath. Thank God it's almost completely healed."

"All right. That leaves us more than enough time. Just so you know, I'll only tell you parts of the story for now. To hear the complete version you'll have to make a very important, life changing decision first. I'll tell you what it is once we arrive at that part of the story."

For the next thirty minutes Ranma told the story of a boy who was forced to leave his home when he was only six years old and was trained to be the best martial artist in the world. She left nothing out; not the insane training methods such as the neko-ken, nor the physical and psychological abuse he had had to endure 'for the sake of the art', or even the very few positive experiences he had had like meeting his best friend Ukyo or the kindness he had been shown in some temples and dojos. From time to time Ranma stopped to recompose herself as she was overcome by her emotions and had to be comforted by a teary-eyed and sympathetic Kasumi who couldn't understand how it was possible for a father to treat his child like that. She had always thought that her life had been harsh, but that was nothing compared to what Ranma's had been like and all the hardships the child had known in her short life. Finally, she explained about the fateful day at Jusenkyo that would dramatically change 'his' life… "And just as I was about to plunge the tanto into my belly someone stopped my hand."

****FLASHBACK****

Ranma looked up in shock at the person who had so casually stopped her from killing herself. The man seemed to be 22-23 years old, was very tall, and his toned body, lean muscles, and spiked, brown hair gave him a wild and handsome appearance. But as the shock wore off the young girl became enraged at this stranger's audacity. Who was he to deny her the right to end her miserable existence? "What do you think you're doing?" She shouted while hitting him repeatedly in the chest, tears running down her cheeks. "Stay out of this! It's none of your business what I do with my life!"

The man just slapped her before venomously laying into her, the disgust at the redhead's suicide attempt clearly audible in his tone. "How dare you?" Life is too precious to be thrown away on a whim. I don't know what reason you have for trying to commit such an act, but I won't allow it. There's always a solution to any problem. Killing oneself is the coward's way out. And I don't think you are a coward. From the energy output I sensed earlier you must be an accomplished warrior. All the more reason to continue on living and to use your skills in a constructive way. Achieving such a level at your age shows a lot of dedication to the fighting arts, something a coward could never manage. Now, stand up and end this foolishness!" The earlier disgust had changed into fury, but then his stern tone softened as he continued addressing the distraught girl. "Child, life is harsh, but that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. And if you're that willing to end your life, maybe you could postpone your plans for a while and tell me what's wrong. What do you have to lose? Nothing. I know through personal experience that bottling your feelings up inside of you doesn't work, but that it leads to anger and depression. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. So what do you say? Will you let me help you? "

Ranma stopped hitting her saviour in the chest, just then noticing that although she had put a lot of force in her punches the man didn't seem to be affected at all, and mused about what he had told her. _'He's got a point. What do I have to lose? Nothing. My life is over anyway, and if I tell him everything he'll hopefully leave and let me die in peace'_. Having made her decision she nodded, raised her head and looked the interloper in the eyes. "All right; I'll tell you, but I hope you have some time to spare; it's a rather long story." And telling she did. From the day she left her home until her fall into the cursed pool and subsequent seppuku attempt. While still suspicious of the man and his motives at first, she felt the powerful, yet peaceful aura he was emitting and very soon the suspicions changed into trust and she really opened up to him, telling him her most secret feelings and worst fears. And she had to admit that the brunet was right. She really felt a lot better, especially since it seemed that Aiolos didn't see her as a freak but was genuinely interested in helping her. "And that's about it," she finished her story, completely spent but happier than she had been in years.

Aiolos was thinking about what Ranma had told him, and it was obvious that the redhead had suffered at least as much as he had. Betrayed and heavily injured by his fellow saints, surviving through sheer iron will and on the run for the last 10 years he knew about suffering, but even his training as a saint hadn't been as harsh and cruel as Ranma's had been. No wonder she's so depressed and distraught. _'How can I help her? That she still has such a kind heart after everything she went through shows her strength of character. And that she was able to awaken her cosmo on her own, without instruction shows that she has a lot of potential. She could probably become one of the greatest saints ever with the right sensei. And if anything should happen to me there would be someone worthy to take over the mantle of Sagittarius Saint. But first I need to do something to help her with her shattered confidence and low self-esteem. But how best go about it?'_

While Aiolos was absorbed in his thoughts the guide had approached the pair and asked Ranma if she felt better. The brunet turned to the guide. "Tell me," he asked the guide in Chinese. "Are you sure you haven't seen anyone lock the boy's curse?"

"Yes. I'm sure about it. I saw the entire fight between the boy and his father, but there hasn't been anyone else in the vicinity. In my twenty years of doing this job, this is the first time I've witnessed the springs locking a curse without outside interference. I'll check the records, but I'm quite certain that this has never happened before."

'_Hmmm... I wonder what that means'_, Aiolos pondered. '_Maybe it was his destiny to fall into that pool. But why would he have to be a girl? Maybe she's supposed to get some training from the __Joketsuzoku__ since they only train female saint aspirants. But even if I'm wrong about that she'd make a fine saint. Now I just need to convince her. From what I've gathered from her life story, every ordeal she has gone through only made her stronger. There must be a way to make use of that. Appealing to her sense of justice might do the trick. It's my best bet in the current situation. _'

Nodding his head, having made up his mind, he addressed the redhead. "Tell me; what is the primary tenet of the martial arts?"

"To help those that can't help themselves and to protect the innocent." Ranma answered without any hesitation, the principle having been drilled into her head over the years by her ex-father, even though the bastard had never really respected those ideals."

Aiolos gave her a gentle smile and resumed his speech. "And aren't you a martial artist? A very good one even?"

The young girl gave a small nod wondering what the young man was getting at.

"In that case, don't you have a moral obligation to uphold your creed? How can you call yourself a martial artist if you're willing to take the coward's way out and run away from your obligations? Yes, you are a girl now. But you still are a martial artist and gender shouldn't be an issue if you want to hold true to your beliefs. Tell me; are girls worth less than boys? Can't a girl be martial artist too? Did your skills get affected any by you turning in to a girl? Are you less of a fighter now than you were before? Are you weak? TELL ME!"

The redhead's eyes started to water once again as her brain computed the new information she got. _'Am I really less of a person now that I'm a girl? Is he right? Would seppuku really mean I betrayed my beliefs? I--what should I do? Can I really live like this, as a g-g-girl? Am I weak? Am I worthless?_ While she was pondering this a small part of her mind started to rebel and slowly but steadily started to rebuild the young girl's shattered confidence. _'Will I let this little setback get me down? Haven't I survived every ordeal Genma put me through over the years? Didn't everything I went through just make me stronger? Do I even have the right to wallow in self-pity?_' As her confidence started to recover and even surpass the level it was at before Jusenkyo Ranma continued to think about her options. '_No, I don't. I'm a survivor. I'm alive and in good health. I'm a girl, but so what? There are billions of girls that lead a happy life. I AM a martial artist. I WANT to continue on living, to help people. I can do this'_. "I WON'T LET THIS GET ME DOWN!!" she shouted as her confidence aura burst into the visible spectrum, knocking the guide off his feet while Aiolos looked proudly at his prospective student.

Shortly afterwards the young girl fell down, exhausted, unconsciousness having claimed her.

The Sagittarius Saint picked her up and carried her to the guide's hut. "Where can I lay her down?" He politely asked the Chinese man.

"Just put her into my daughter's bed. She's off visiting her aunt and won't be back for a few days."

He nodded and gently carried his burden to the indicated room and tucked her in, stroking her hair. _'What a horrible life to live for one so young. And it won't get any easier for her if she should accept my offer. No need to worry about that right now; I'll simply ask her tomorrow and hope for the best'_.

He joined the guide on the porch hoping that he could get more information out of the Chinese man.

"What do you think?" The guide asked. "Will she be alright?"

"If her outburst before feinting is any indication the worst is over. I'm sure she won't try and take her own life any longer. She is a survivor and this experience will only serve to make her stronger. We just have to give her enough time to accept the new situation and to let her mind heal and adapt. A good night's sleep should help a lot, but it will take her some time to completely accept the changes she's going through. But that will come. I believe in her."

The two men continued talking while Ranma was recuperating, having fallen into a very deep sleep. But although it looked like she was sleeping like a log, her brain was working in overdrive, her mind still trying to come to terms with what happened earlier and working on repairing her damaged psyche.

01234543210

The next morning Aiolos entered Ranma's room to wake the redhead up. Her cushion and the bed sheets were drenched by sweat, indicating that her sleep hadn't been as peaceful as he had hoped. But she'd obviously calmed down some time before as she lay there with a smile on her face, the regular heaving of her chest the only sign that she was still breathing. The night's rest had obviously had a positive effect. He was almost reluctant to wake the child, but it had to be done. He shook her lightly at first, but when the girl didn't react at all he tried harder.

"Five more minutes pops... sleepy."

The saint narrowed his eyebrows, but then a nasty grin appeared on his face. He took the half empty jug of water from the nightstand and upended it over the child's face. With a loud spluttering the redhead woke up and immediately took a defensive position, ready to blow her father into oblivion. When she saw the grinning man in front of her, a man who wasn't Genma, the events of the previous day came back to her and her sombre mood returned.

"Oh, it's you," she exhaled. She was herself surprised that she hadn't reacted more violently, but then she wasn't really in the mood for a fight. She sighed and looked sternly at Aiolos. "Was that really necessary?"

"Probably not," he answered amusedly, "but seeing your face was well worth it. I HAVE been trying to wake you up for the last five minutes, but to no avail."

"Hehehe, I'm known to be a heavy sleeper. I even managed to sleep through an earthquake once. Any reason for waking me up?"

The playful tone disappeared from Aiolos' voice as he became all business. "Are you up for a short travel? There's a tribe not far away who's been living around here for several millennia and there's probably no one who knows more about Jusenkyo than they do. So, do you want to meet them?

THAT got Ranma's attention. She immediately jumped out of the bed, tripping over the blanket and landing on the floor... hard. Ashamed of her clumsiness the girl turned red and Aiolos chuckled.

"I'll wait outside. The guide is busy making breakfast, but you should have enough time to freshen up and get dressed. If we leave soon we'll make it to the village before nightfall."

Ranma was used to rustic settings and wasn't bothered by not having a warm bath ready. After all, she has spent years travelling through the wilderness, and a warm bath was a commodity she only rarely experienced. So, she filled the simple bathtub with cold water, took a bar of soap and lathered herself quite thoroughly. When she saw the sorry state her gi was in she opened her backpack and took out one of her silk Chinese outfits. Since the curse hadn't affected her size they still fit.

Five minutes later she left the room and joined Aiolos and the guide in the kitchen.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" The guide asked. "The food will be ready soon."

"I've slept better," she answered, not bothering to hide the depressed mood she was in. "But I've realized that trying to take my life was stupid. I still can do a lot of good, even if I'm destined to stay this way."

The guide nodded. "There are worse fates than being changed into a girl. At least you didn't turn into a helpless animal like a rabbit or a piglet. Some of the victims were not that lucky and fell victim to the wild animals living around the springs. I've seen it happen twice and it's not something I'd ever want to witness again."

The redhead shuddered when she imagined that she could have ended like that. "Aiolos really made me think about it and he was right. Even if I should remain a girl for the rest of my life, the body is the only thing that has changed. I'm still me. I was just afraid that the curse might change who I am and turn me into a girl on the inside as well as on the outside. But except for my male bits missing I don't really feel any different. And there might still be hope. Aiolos told me of a village where I might get some help."

"Ah, the Joketsuzoku. Yes, they might know something. They have been living here for more than 2,000 years I've been told." The guide then put out the fire and removed the pot from the stove. "Well then, breakfast is ready. It's rather frugal, but that's all I have. I hadn't expected any visitors."

"That is fine." Aiolos answered. "We'll leave after breakfast."

"Would you like me to show you the way?" The Chinese man enquired.

"No, thank you. I've been there before. We've bothered you long enough already."

"Not at all." The guide reassured his two guests. "I'm always happy to have some company. I rarely get any visitors except for the neighbouring tribes."

The two guests finished eating in silence and after clearing the plates they bid the stocky man goodbye and left for the Amazon village.

01234543210

They'd barely left the grounds when Aiolos decided to make his pitch. He had been thinking for quite some time about the best way to approach the young girl and decided that being completely open and straightforward would work best. With Genma as a role model she probably hadn't had any experience with people giving her the honest truth. "So, you're a pretty good martial artist I noticed. How would you like to become my apprentice and take your skill to the next level?"

He grinned as he saw the redhead's eyes pop out of her head. "Really? What styles do you know?" She asked in an upbeat tone.

He was right. He just had to mention martial arts and she'd forget all of her worries. Well that should make it easier since saints were the strongest warriors in the world. And she really seemed eager to learn more. He just hoped that she would accept all of the duties that came with the job, especially that she might have to take a human life. That was always the hardest part for a new saint, and something they generally didn't even realize when they started their apprenticeship. But he knew that he had to give her all the facts lest she would end up resenting him.

"Not so fast," he chided the kid. "You should wait till I finish before you make your choice."

After the girl acquiesced he continued. "Well, first of all. Do you know what a saint is?"

The redhead thought about it for a while. She knew that she had heard the word before, but couldn't remember where. Then it suddenly came back to her. Some monks in a temple she had visited a few years earlier had been talking about them. "They are legendary, powerful warriors that lived a long time ago. Am I right?"

"Partially," the brunet answered. "They are formidable warriors but they are more than a mere legend. They still exist today and you have one in front of you."

That piece of information stopped Ranma in her steps. "No way!" She shouted. "Really?"

Aiolos just nodded his head. "I see that you're excited, but wait till I've finished since there's a lot I have to tell you. Saints are more than mere martial artists. The job comes with a lot of responsibilities and the powers of a saint shouldn't be used lightly. But I sense a lot of potential in you. You might even become one of the strongest saints ever. And I'm rarely wrong. But the most important condition to become a saint is strength of character and righteousness. Getting strong is fairly easy, but saints are obligated to use their power for good. Saints abusing the powers they gained or using them only for their own benefit aren't worthy of their status.

After hearing your story and learning about some of the things you've been subjected to, and seeing that you still hold honor in high regard I just knew that I had found a worthy heir. But before you tell me your decision there are some very important facts I need to make you aware of.

First thing you must know is that as a saint you will be expected to carry out any missions you receive. And that means that you might be ordered to kill. A saint values the life of every living being and never takes one lightly. But there are some really evil people and creatures in the world and sometimes you have no other choice but to take a few lives in order to save many. Do you understand? Think about it and depending on your answer I'll tell you more."

The redhead just nodded her head and Aiolos gave her enough time to digest that information while they continued walking towards their destination. And Ranma really thought about what she had been told. Could she do it? Could she take a life? Her pops may have been full of it, but he was a very skilled martial artist. And he had always preached that a martial artist's duty was to protect those that couldn't protect themselves, although he quite often didn't take his own words to heart. So, could she do it? Could she kill a living being if it meant saving an innocent person. She had often hunted for food on the training journey and so she had already killed. But only animals. And that wasn't the same as a human being... or was it? Animals are sentient creatures too, after all. They may not be as evolved as humans but they probably don't want to die either. She realized that she needed more information before she could make a decision.

"So, about the killing. What kind of people would I have to kill... if I really had to do it?"

Aiolos was happy that she hadn't outright refused his offer and decided to tell her more. "As I said before, saints only kill when it's really necessary and there's no other solution. One of a saint's main jobs is to protect the world from otherworldly menaces like monsters, demons, youma, and other supernatural creatures. But that doesn't mean that we'll never have to kill human beings. Among those are demon summoners, rebel saints, or other people that are a menace to the world."

Ranma thought about the additional information she'd just received. She had heard about the existence of supernatural creatures during her travels even if she hadn't ever seen one, and most of what she had heard wasn't good. Those creatures were generally merciless killers and didn't give a damn about humans and their right to live. Killing them she could probably handle. Humans on the other hand... Well, she had to agree with Aiolos. People who summon or control those kinds of creatures and even order them to do unspeakable things were evil. No doubt about it. And if she had to kill them in order to save the poor victims of those monsters she would do it, but no one could force her to like it. At least as a saint she would be using her art for the purpose it was created, namely helping others.

Yes, she was sure she could do it. Even more since she had been disowned. Ronins were a disgrace in Japan, pariahs even. As a ronin she didn't have any kind of future in her home country. So what did she have to lose? Everything was better than being an outcast. And she really liked the young man. He seemed to be honest and was obviously very strong and skilled since he so easily stopped her arm the previous day. Her decision made she decided to give him her answer.

"I accept."

Aiolos nodded solemnly. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" the girl answered, sure of her decision .

"Then I accept you as my apprentice. But first let me introduce myself. I am Aiolos, gold saint of Sagittarius."

Ranma grinned and shook the hand the man offered her. "I am Ranma, formerly of the Saotome clan, and I accept your offer."

"Then, let me tell you more about the history and the duties of Athena's saints. Yes, you heard correctly. Athena, the Greek goddess of Wisdom and War. The main duty of the saints, even more important than protecting the world, is to serve Athena, the goddess who created them. And even if you're sceptical I can assure you that the gods exist. Athena is walking among us as we speak, even if her current incarnation hasn't awoken to her powers and memories yet. As I said, the saints are Athena's army and guards, and her orders are law to us. You must never disobey any of her commands, do you understand? Athena is a benevolent goddess and loves humanity and the earth. She would never willingly let any harm come to good people."

Ranma was digesting what she was told so far and liked the idea. She had never heard of Athena, but if she really was a benevolent goddess, like her mentor claimed her to be, than she wouldn't have any problems serving her.

"Next I need to give you some information about the different classes of saints there are and the armour they wear. Yes, saints wear suits of armour called cloths. The cloths are sentient and divided into three categories. From the strongest to the weakest there are 12 gold cloths, 24 silver cloths and 48 bronze cloths. There are 4 more cloths but not much is known about them. The cloths also give you information on the saint's rank and power. If you want to compare them to current military ranks, the gold saints are the equivalent of generals, the silver saints of colonels, and the bronze saints of captains. Additionally you have the simple soldiers. They have been subjected to the same training as the saints have and are more powerful than most martial artists. But since there's a limited quantity of cloths they never got one. But they are still formidable warriors in their own right and are in charge of the lowest thread missions. On top of the hierarchy is the pope who is Athena's right hand and is in command of the saints in her absence.

You mentioned that they were powerful, didn't you? And that's true. They are the strongest beings on earth, except for the gods of course. But their strength does not only come from the rigorous training they go through, but also from the energy they use, called cosmo (1). Now, you know about ki of course. Ki flows through our body and sustains us. Without ki we'd be dead. Dedicated martial artists can use it for different purposes, like strengthening their muscles, increasing the healing rate of their bodies, produce an aura and with lots of training even how to project it. Cosmo is similar, yet completely different.

It's a form of energy, just like ki, but works in a completely different way. True, you can use both form of energy to do the same things, but cosmo is much more potent and versatile than ki.

The easiest way to explain the concept of cosmo probably is to compare it to the Big Bang.

I'm not a physicist, so bear with me even if the explanation is not totally correct. The Big Bang is the initial explosion that created the universe. A similar phenomenon happens when a saint uses cosmo. Basically the energy is inactive until the saint calls for it. But then it is liberated through one big explosion that originates from one point in the body and spreads from that point through the whole body, suffusing every single cell with energy. That's the classical explanation of cosmo.

But a more accurate analogy would be nuclear fission.

As you might know, everything in the world is composed of atoms. And atoms contain energy. Nuclear power is won by the fission of atoms which release a lot of energy. Cosmo uses the same principle. Every single cell of the body is like an atom. A saint produces cosmo by making the cells of their body 'explode', which liberates a lot of energy.

What makes cosmo so deadly is that once a person has a grasp of the concept it's not difficult to use it to destroy any matter they touch, simply through disrupting the molecular cohesion of the atoms that compose it. That's why every sensei must ensure that they only teach people who would never abuse their teaching to do evil deeds. Only honourable and upstanding people are allowed to become saints.

I'm sure you won't disappoint me and only use my teachings for the benefit of humanity, won't you?"

Ranma didn't even need to think about it before giving an answer. "I promise, sensei."

Nodding his head, the saint continued. "Good. That's what I wanted to hear."

"But sensei," Ranma enquired, "how can I learn how to use cosmo? Is it difficult?"

Aiolos just grinned. "Yes it is… normally. You probably haven't noticed it, but you've already used cosmo at least once, when you furiously attacked your father after falling into the pool. You unconsciously made your cosmo explode and that's what called me to you… I watched for a while to get a feel of the situation, but when I saw you take your tanto and realized what you were about to do I had to act, and just in time to prevent you from taking your life.

I was really surprised when I saw you since the aura I had felt was at least as strong as a Bronze Saint's. I knew at that moment that you had a lot of potential and that it would be a waste to let such a promising person die. Once I learnt about your past I was certain that I had found a worthy heir."

Ranma didn't answer and thought back to her fight her father in her mind, replaying the whole chain of events in her mind. She was very angry at the moment and quite out of it. She just knew that she needed to punish the origin of all of her problems, and that she needed power to do it. Could she really have accessed her cosmo unconsciously? Well, she must have, even if it isn't common. So, if she had managed to do it once she should be able to do so again. She vaguely remembered what the energy had felt like. If she could consciously control that energy without anger as a focus she'd have a new, powerful weapon in her arsenal. Yes, meeting Aiolos was certainly the best thing that had happened to her in her whole life. So far she hadn't sensed any duplicity coming from the young man, but that didn't necessary mean that she needn't be on her guard, but so far it looked rather promising. At least he couldn't be worse than her father, well ex-father rather. And maybe it was for the best. She could have a new start, away from the panda and all the trouble that had followed his schemes.

When the Gold Saint shook her out of her musings she looked ahead and saw a large, fortified village and two armed women standing at the entrance.

"We've arrived," Aiolos announced. "Welcome to the village of Nyuuchezu."

****END FLASHBACK****

Ranma stopped at that point and noticed the way Kasumi's wide open eyes were fixated on her lips, lapping up every word she said and she couldn't hide a grin. Kasumi reminded her of herself whenever someone mentioned a new technique.

"That's for the first part of the story. And yes, I finished my training, and yes I am a saint. Now, you heard about the things that are expected from us. I would be happy if you took my offer. There's a lot of work to do and it will take several years for you to reach gold saint level power, but I have a great feeling about you. Just think about it and give me your answer this evening. Should you accept I'll tell you the rest of my story.

But my offer for normal martial arts training still stands, even if you shouldn't accept my offer. And thank you for listening to me and not holding my curse against me. It means a lot to me, just as much as our friendship does."

The redhead packed up her medical supplies and left Kasumi's room. She entered her own bedroom and groomed her hair, not bothering to put it back up into the elaborate Amazon hair style since she wasn't in the village now and didn't have any social functions to fulfil. She put it into a simple high ponytail, her mane reaching down to the small of her back.

Checking herself in the mirror and quite happy with the results she left the bedroom and joined Kasumi in the kitchen. They made some small talk while preparing breakfast, consolidating their newfound friendship while comparing fighting techniques. Sometime later they heard someone coming down the stairs.

Akane put her head through the kitchen door and greeted Kasumi, completely ignoring their houseguest. She was wearing a pale yellow gi and was obviously about to start her daily training session. Ranma just shook her head at Akane's rudeness and childishness, but didn't let it distract her from watching the cooking pots.

"She left for her jogging. She does it every day for half an hour. Afterwards she pulverizes some cinder blocks in the dojo." Kasumi explained.

The younger girl scoffed. "That's what she calls training? Where does she get the idea that she's such a great martial artist? That girl's delusional. With the little effort she's putting into her training she never will amount to much. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but it's a fact. Without some sacrifices you can never advance in the art."

The brunette nodded. She didn't like people talking badly about her family, but she couldn't dispute the redhead's analysis of her sister's skills.

"I agree. But she hasn't received any formal training for years and limited herself to the moves we learned from our father years ago. I know that I should have helped her, but I wanted to keep my skills a secret until I could manage to defeat Genma. Well, now that father seems to have recovered he'll hopefully go back to training her. And maybe that will help curb her temper somewhat. I've tried for so long, not getting any results. Ah well, breakfast's ready. Could you get everyone, please?"

"No problem, Kasumi." The young girl left the kitchen and gathered everyone together.

They were enjoying a quiet meal until Soun started talking. "So, Mei, what are your plans for today?" The Tendo patriarch asked.

"Well, I have a lot of things to take care of. Since I only came back yesterday, the first thing I'll do is visit my sister. Afterwards I'll go to Furinkan middle school and enrol. After all, I need a diploma if I want to get a good job later on. I also need to buy more clothes and other necessities. And since this is my first time in Nerima I'll use the rest of the day to explore the ward. As you can see I'll be busy."

"Why don't you stay with your sister, Mei?" Nabiki asked.

"Quite simple," the redhead answered. "I like my independence and my family respects that. I want to manage on my own, without any help. Additionally it will be easier for me to train Kasumi if I'm nearby."

Nabiki accepted Mei's answers but decided to do a private investigation about their guest's family and the girl's past. After all, unknown quantities could be quite detrimental to her activities. And she had a feeling that there was more to the petite girl than met the eye. She smirked. She loved mysteries, and especially unravelling them. Who knows, maybe she could be a good money source. Everyone has skeletons in their closet and Nabiki had a knack for finding them

Since I use both the concepts of ki and cosmo in this story I needed to clearly differentiate them. That's why my explanation of cosmo differs a little from canon.

Posted 12/30/2008

Edited 01/04/2009


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